Novelist Sally Rooney has vowed to fund the proscribed terror group Palestine Action.
The Normal People author said she would donate earnings from her books and BBC adaptations to the organisation, adding: ‘If this makes me a “supporter of terror” under UK law, so be it.’
Funding terrorism carries up to 14 years’ imprisonment under the Terrorism Act 2000 – the same piece of legislation used to ban Palestine Action last month.
Ms Rooney, 34, wrote in an article for The Irish Times: ‘My books, at least for now, are still published in Britain, and are widely available in bookshops and even supermarkets.
‘In recent years the UK’s state broadcaster has also televised two fine adaptations of my novels, and therefore regularly pays me residual fees.
‘I want to be clear that I intend to use these proceeds of my work, as well as my public platform generally, to go on supporting Palestine Action and direct action against genocide in whatever way I can.
‘If the British state considers this “terrorism”, then perhaps it should investigate the shady organisations that continue to promote my work and fund my activities, such as WHSmith and the BBC.’
The Irish writer added that ‘to ensure the British public is made aware of my position, I would happily publish this statement in a UK newspaper – but that would now be illegal’.
Sally Rooney, author of Normal People, said she will use earnings from her book sales to support Palestine Action
Palestine Action has been proscribed as a terrorist group but protesters have continued to hold demonstrations under its name
The author said she would also use money from her BBC royalties to fund the group, with adaptations of two of her books used by the broadcaster
The BBC adaptation of Normal People, starring Daisy Edgar-Jones and Paul Mescal, was one of the corporation’s biggest hits of 2020, and it has also adapted Ms Rooney’s book Conversations With Friends.
Palestine Action was banned last month after it admitted breaking into RAF Brize Norton in June, when £7 million of damage was caused to two Voyager aircraft.
The action, approved by both Houses of Parliament, made it a proscribed organisation, meaning it is now a crime to offer it support or be a member.
Ms Rooney was referred to during a hearing at the High Court in London last month, when the co-founder of Palestine Action, Huda Ammori, unsuccessfully sought to block the proscription.
Blinne Ni Ghralaigh KC, representing Ms Ammori, told the court the ban would create ‘far-reaching’ harm and cause people to ‘self-censor’.
She said that Ms Rooney ‘fears the ramifications for her, for her work, for her books, for her programmes’ if she showed support for Palestine Action.
Ms Ni Ghralaigh asked: ‘Is the Prime Minister going to denounce her, an Irish artist, as a supporter of a proscribed organisation? Will that have ramifications for her with the BBC?’
More than 700 people have been arrested since the ban came into force, including hundreds who held up placards which read ‘I oppose genocide. I support Palestine Action’ at a demonstration in Parliament Square on August 9.
Police officers arrest an 89-year-old protester at a ‘Lift The Ban’ demonstration in support of the proscribed group Palestine Action
A supporter of Palestine Action pictured being detained by police after taking part in a mass action in Parliament Square
The Metropolitan Police said on Friday a further 60 people will be prosecuted for supporting Palestine Action, in addition to three charges announced previously in relation to a protest on July 5. And on Saturday, Norfolk Police said 13 people were arrested at a protest in Norwich.
It comes after Sir Jonathon Porritt, a former environmental adviser to the King, last week condemned the ban on Palestine Action as ‘absolutely standard authoritarian tactics’.
Ms Rooney’s British publisher Faber & Faber was approached for comment.
