Sally Rooney’s Books May Be Banned In The UK Over Palestine Donations

Sally Rooney, author of Normal People, may be forced to withdraw her books from sale in the UK, and could even be blocked from publishing new works, due to “uncertainty” stemming from the UK government’s ban on Palestine Action, the High Court has heard.

Palestine Action co-founder Huda Ammori is challenging the Home Office over then-home secretary Yvette Cooper’s decision to proscribe the group under anti-terror laws, while the Home Office is defending the move.

The ban, which came into effect on 5 July, makes membership of or support for the direct-action group a criminal offence, carrying a potential 14-year prison sentence.

Ms Ammori’s barrister, Raza Husain KC, told the court that Rooney believes publishers and producers could be committing a criminal offence by paying her because of her “vocal” support for the proscribed group.

The Irish author had previously been advised she “can no longer safely enter the UK without potentially facing arrest” due to her support for the British activist group.

Sally has been donating money to Palestine Action, which the UK government proscribed after activists broke into an RAF base and damaged two military aircraft earlier this year.

In August, Downing Street warned that Rooney could risk committing a terrorist offence after the award-winning author stated in the Irish Times that she would donate proceeds from her books and BBC adaptations to support the group.

Following on from this week’s news, the author said it was “unclear” whether any UK company can make payments to her and that if she were prevented from profiting from her work, her income would be “enormously restricted”.

She added: “If I were to write another screenplay, television show or similar creative work, I would not be able to have it produced or distributed by a company based in England and Wales without expressly or tacitly accepting that I would not be paid.

“If, therefore, Faber and Faber Limited are legally prohibited from paying me the royalties I am owed, my existing works may have to be withdrawn from sale and would therefore no longer be available to readers in the UK,” she added, saying this would be “a truly extreme incursion by the state into the realm of artistic expression”.

Sally has been very open about her support for Palestine as well as Palestine Action, writing in The Times: “If this makes me a supporter of terror under UK law, so be it”.