LONDON: Irish author Sally Rooney said she was unable to enter the UK this week to collect a Sky Arts Award for literature because she feared she would be arrested over her support for Palestine Action, an activist group recently banned by the UK government under terrorism legislation.
Rooney, known for her novels including “Normal People” and “Conversations with Friends,” received the award for her latest book, “Intermezzo.”
Alex Bowler, publisher at Faber & Faber and Rooney’s editor, collected the award on her behalf at the 2025 Sky Arts Awards ceremony at London’s Roundhouse on Tuesday, and read a statement from the author in which she said she was “touched and grateful” for the recognition and regretted she was unable to attend in person.
“I truly loved writing ‘Intermezzo’ and it means the world to me to think that it has found some small place in the lives of its readers — thank you,” she added.
“I wish that I could be with you this evening to accept the honor in person but because of my support for nonviolent antiwar protest, I’m advised that I can no longer safely enter the UK without potentially facing arrest.
“In that context, I want to thank you all the more warmly for honoring my work tonight, and to reiterate my belief in the dignity and beauty of all human life, and my solidarity with the people of Palestine.”
The UK government proscribed Palestine Action as a terrorist organization on July 5, after the group was accused of damaging military aircraft and other infrastructure during a protest at a Royal Air Force base in Oxfordshire.
Rooney previously said she intended to use proceeds from her work to support the group. Legal experts noted that providing financial support to a proscribed group can be considered an offense under UK terrorism laws, potentially exposing Rooney to arrest.
Simply expressing support for a proscribed group can have legal consequences. In the two months since the UK ban on Palestine Action, more than 1,600 people have been arrested for declaring or displaying support for the group.
Rooney resides in her native Ireland, which is not part of the UK and so the terrorist proscription does not apply there. She previously told The Irish Times newspaper that if supporting the group “makes me a ‘supporter of terror’ under UK law, so be it.”
This week, a UN commission of inquiry concluded that Israel was committing genocide against Palestinians in Gaza. Israel’s Foreign Ministry rejected the conclusion as “distorted and false.”
A star-studded “Together for Palestine” charity concert at London’s OVO Arena on Wednesday raised £1.5 million ($2 million) to support Palestinian humanitarian organizations. Celebrity participants included actors Richard Gere, Florence Pugh and Benedict Cumberbatch, singer Damon Albarn, and documentary filmmaker Louis Theroux.
