Cafe owner says UK police tried to recruit him to spy on Palestine Action

Cafe owner says UK police tried to recruit him to spy on Palestine Action Submitted by MEE staff on Sat, 05/30/2026 - 15:47 Shams Sadiq says Manchester police offered to overlook low-level crimes if he informed on the proscribed group Police officers detain a protester during a Lift The Ban demonstration in support of the proscribed group Palestine Action in London on 4 October 2025 (Justin Tallis/AFP) Off A cafe owner in northern England has said  British police offered him financial incentives and promised to turn a blind eye to some low-level offences if he informed on the proscribed group Palestine Action. The Guardian reported on Saturday that a man named Shams Sadiq, the owner of two cafes in Manchester, said he was offered inducements by the police.  The offers were made when he went to pick up electronic devices confiscated by police during his arrest last year over alleged offences linked to Palestine Action, Sadiq said. The direct action group was proscribed last year after members broke into a military air base. The ban made expressing support for, or membership of, the group a criminal offence punishable by up to 14 years in prison. Sadiq said he went to Ashton-under-Lyne Police Station on 15 May, where two officers asked to speak with him “man to man”.  The officers said they had checked his devices and knew he was “fully involved” with Palestine Action, but said he would not be charged in connection with last year's arrest. “They said to me: ‘We need your help. Look, there’s benefits in helping us,’” he told The Guardian. “I’m like: ‘What kind of benefits? Financial benefits? Are you going to pay my taxes?’ They said: ‘Oh, we can help with things l...

Original source: Middle East Eye