Wife of Burnham's national security adviser accused of 'leaking' as she fights back over Palestine Action row

The wife of Andy Burnham's national security adviser was today accused of 'leaking' as she continued a fierce fightback in a row over her backing for Palestine Action.

Sarah Helm, who is married to Jonathan Powell, was recently probed by police over a social media post in which she declared her support for the banned group.

Officers took no further action after their assessment of Ms Helm's post on X found it did not meet the criminal threshold.

In the wake of the row, Ms Helm has posted prolifically on the same site in defence of her stance.

This includes her seeming to reveal her husband played little role in the Government's initial decision to proscribe Palestine Action as a terrorist organisation last year.

Asked by a fellow X user if Mr Powell had been instrumental in banning the group - or was involved in the decision in his senior role - Ms Helm replied: 'Nope and nope'.

She also appeared to deny he could have any influence in getting Palestine Action deproscribed.

Responding to Ms Helm's post, senior Tory MP Alicia Kearns questioned whether she should be 'leaking' about decision-making in Downing Street.

She wrote: 'Not sure the wife of the National Security Advisor should be leaking where decision making sits in Government on…National Security?

'This tweet suggests he tells her who makes decisions, and how, on national security issues…'

The ban on Palestine Action, which began in July 2025, made membership or support of the direct action group a criminal offence punishable by up to 14 years in prison.

Ms Helm was last week accused of expressing public support for Palestine Action during a discussion about Normal People author Sally Rooney.

The Irish writer has said she can no longer sell her books in the UK because of her support for Palestine Action.

Ms Helm, a journalist and non-fiction author, posted on X on Thursday: 'God help us authors who support Palestine and Palestine Action.'

The Metropolitan Police said on Friday that the post was 'in the process of being assessed to determine whether any further police investigation may be required'.

But, in an update on Saturday, a Scotland Yard spokesperson said: 'On Thursday 15 October, we were made aware of a post on X relating to Palestine Action.

'The post was assessed by specialist officers and it was determined that it did not meet the criminal threshold. No further police action will be taken.'

It is understood there was insufficient evidence that the post was capable of encouraging support for a proscribed organisation.

Mr Burnham retained Mr Powell as national security adviser after replacing Keir Starmer as Prime Minister in July.

Some MPs have dubbed Mr Powell - who was formerly Tony Blair's chief of staff in No10 - as Labour's 'de facto foreign secretary' due to his frequent overseas trips.

A Government spokeswoman said of Ms Helm's social media posts: 'These views are held by an individual who does not represent the Government in any capacity.'