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Gary Lineker and Paul Mescal are among 142 stars backing Sally Rooney after she pledged royalties to banned Palestine Action

Sally Rooney, whose Normal People royalties pledged to proscribed group Palestine Action have prompted Faber & Faber to halt sales of her novels across Britain.
Sally Rooney, whose Normal People royalties pledged to proscribed group Palestine Action have prompted Faber & Faber to halt sales of her novels across Britain.

'Sally Rooney is a writer, not a terrorist,' the open letter begins, branding Britain's anti-terror law 'ill-conceived and draconian'. The signatories demand the government amend the legislation. Faber & Faber stopped supplying Rooney's books in the UK because it cannot legally pass her earnings on. Rooney said further sales could be 'a serious criminal offence'.

Palestine Action has been a proscribed terror group since members broke into an RAF base.

Jessie Buckley, Tilda Swinton, Kneecap and Nobel winner JM Coetzee also signed.

The signatories call the situation a 'point of repressive absurdity' and reject 'censorship'.

MoreIrish TimesPaul Mescal and Jessie Buckley sign letter supporting Sally Rooney after UK books withdrawnIrish Independent‘A writer, not a terrorist’ - CMAT and Gary Lineker among public figures to sign letter to UK government in support of Sally RooneyThe HeraldArmando Iannucci, Irvine Welsh and more sign letter in support of Sally RooneyThe Jewish Chronicle (GNews)‘Can I suggest that Sally Rooney visits Auschwitz and also delves into Ireland’s neutral and murky Jew-hating past?’: Letters to the Editor, October 23 2026
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