Andy Burnham's team has broken its silence after reports that one of his top advisers is considering leaving his role. National Security Adviser (NSA) Jonathan Powell has been central to some of Britain's most fraught security and foreign relations challenges of the past 30 years, including the Good Friday Agreement and interactions with Libya and Syria, and currently serves as Britain's chief negotiator with Israel.
It is the latter post that could be compromised by Mr Powell's wife, author Sarah Helm, who wrote on X on Thursday: "God help us authors who support Palestine and Palestine Action." Palestine Action is a proscribed terror organisation in the UK, and belonging to or supporting it is a criminal offence punishable by up to 14 years in prison.
Police assessing comments
The Metropolitan Police said they are assessing the comments to determine "whether any further police investigation may be required." Ms Helm's tweet does not say she supports Palestine Action, and she has not been charged with any offence.
Downing Street has distanced itself from the comments, with a spokesperson saying: "These views are held by an individual who does not represent the Government in any capacity." But Mr Powell is reported to have been "talking about leaving for a long time" according to his friends.
No 10 denies resignation plans
The Telegraph reports that Mr Powell is considering leaving his role in Downing Street, but a No 10 source has denied that he has any plans to step down. The source said it was not true that he was stressed or exhausted, and said he had not been talking about leaving.
Mr Powell's tenure in Whitehall has not been without controversy. He was part of the negotiations to hand the British Chagos Islands to Mauritius, sparking a political row with the United States over the joint UK-US base on the island of Diego Garcia. The deal has since collapsed after Donald Trump withdrew his support.
China ties and spying trial collapse
Mr Powell was also instrumental in forging closer ties with China for the former prime minister Sir Keir Starmer. The Anglo-Chinese relationship came under further scrutiny late last year when the trial of two men accused of spying for Beijing collapsed.
Responding to Ms Helm's original post on X, the Campaign Against Antisemitism (CAA) called on the police to investigate. The group acknowledged that "spouses are entitled to independent views," but said Ms Helm's post "raises extremely serious questions for Jonathan Powell and the Government."
CAA calls for investigation
"Clearly, the police need to investigate, and Sarah Helm must face the full force of the law, just like others who appear to express support for any proscribed terrorist organisation," a spokesperson for the CAA added.
Ms Helm has since posted on her X account, thanking her "supporters" and adding: "As an 83-year-old survivor of the Nakba and one of my many friends in Rafah (now obliterated) said to me when I was last there, 'keep writing Sarah, we need all the pencils we can get'."
In her original post, Ms Helm was responding to a discussion about Normal People author Sally Rooney, who has said she can no longer sell her books in the UK because of her support for the group. The Irish author previously said she would donate earnings from her books and BBC adaptations of novels to Palestine Action, which has a stated goal of "ending global participation in Israel's genocidal and apartheid regime."
As a result, Rooney's publisher, Faber, has determined it cannot sell her novels in Britain. Figures have shown a continued surge in terror arrests after the ban on supporting Palestine Action was introduced.
Police have made mass arrests at multiple demonstrations since, where protesters have typically held up placards and worn T-shirts and badges declaring "I oppose genocide, I support Palestine Action," leading to their arrests under anti-terrorism legislation.
There were 3,867 arrests for suspected terrorist activity in the year to June, of which 3,630 (94%) were linked to supporting the group. In the 12 months before the ban came into force, 234 terror arrests were made. In August, the US Government also announced sanctions against Palestine Action, designating it a terror group.
