More than 150 pro-Palestinian political activists, actors, filmmakers, musicians, writers, journalists, historians, and philosophers in the United Kingdom have condemned the British law labeling the Palestine Action rights group as a terrorist organization, describing the UK government's move as a “repressive absurdity.”

In an open letter—which was signed by notable figures including Tariq Ali, J.M. Coetzee, William Dalrymple, Jonathan Glazer, Naomi Klein, Gary Lineker, Paul Mescal, Kate Nash, Arundhati Roy, Juliet Stevenson, Susan Sarandon, Tilda Swinton, Zadie Smith, Slavoj Žižek, and the Irish hip-hop group Kneecap—the signatories censured the government's “direct or indirect" ban on the freedom of thought and free speech of UK citizens.

“We categorically reject censorship – whether direct or indirect – and urge the government to change course, amending the legislation which has led us to this point of repressive absurdity,” the coalition stated in the open letter reported by The Guardian on Wednesday.

The letter expressed strong support for Irish novelist Sally Rooney, whose books have been withdrawn from sale in the United Kingdom.

“Sally Rooney is a writer, not a terrorist. Her books must be available to the public,” the letter reads.

Rooney and her publisher, Faber, announced last week that they had to end the sale of her books in the UK due to her support for the proscribed group.

Irish novelist Sally Rooney forced to withdraw books from UK over support for Palestine Action

Bestselling author Sally Rooney says her books can no longer be sold in the UK because of her support for Palestine Action.

The UK government's proscription puts Palestine Action on the same blacklist as militant groups like Hamas and Hezbollah, making it illegal in Britain to be part of, support, or finance it.

Faber stated that the ban meant it could not legally pass on royalties earned in the UK to Rooney.

“Their withdrawal from sale, on the basis of ill-conceived and draconian anti-terror legislation, is an affront to basic principles of free speech and expression so long taken for granted in this country,” the letter added.

Rooney has repeatedly expressed her support for Palestine Action and stated she intends to fund the group, which is not proscribed in Ireland, where she lives and works.

Despite the halting of her UK sales, she has said she will continue to express her ideas and intentions freely and is “wholly prepared to accept the consequences.”

Rooney has sold more than six million copies of her books worldwide, earning her praise as the "voice of a generation."

Rooney, an Irish author in her 30s, is a prominent advocate for Palestinian liberation.

The Labour government has faced heavy criticism for proscribing Palestine Action in July 2025, with thousands of people arrested since for protesting the move.

The group's stated goal is to end "global participation in Israel's genocidal and apartheid regime," and its proscription followed a series of high-profile stunts protesting the war in Gaza, including targeting weapons factories belonging to Israeli arms group Elbit.

Britain's Supreme Court is set to hear an appeal against the ban from the group's co-founder, Huda Ammori, next month.