Manchester Café Owner Alleges Police Offered Financial Inducements to Spy on Palestine Action
A Manchester café owner has publicly alleged that Greater Manchester Police officers offered him financial rewards and promised to overlook low-level criminal offences if he agreed to inform on the proscribed group Palestine Action, according to a report published by The Guardian on Saturday. Shams Sadiq, the owner of two cafes in Manchester, said the approach was made on 15 May when he attended Ashton-under-Lyne Police Station to collect electronic devices confiscated during his arrest the previous year over alleged offences linked to Palestine Action. Global Banking and Finance
Sadiq said two officers asked to speak with him “man to man.” The officers told him they had examined his devices and knew he was “fully involved” with Palestine Action, but said he would not be charged in connection with his arrest. Global Banking and Finance
“They said to me: ‘We need your help. Look, there’s benefits in helping us,'” Sadiq 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 like that.’ The other guy said to me: ‘Oh, there’s other benefits, too.’ They said: ‘We’re not saying you can go out and commit a serious crime, but we can turn a blind eye to certain things.'” Global Banking and Finance
Sadiq, who is 51, asked the officers whether outstanding speeding tickets could be cancelled, and they replied: “We don’t care about speeding.” He said he interpreted “help” as a request to assist investigations into Palestine Action, and added that the officers suggested his standing in the local Muslim community made him potentially valuable. “They also said I’m quite respected in my community, so maybe they think I would help them find Muslims in the mosque with extreme views,” he told The Guardian. Global Banking and Finance
The officers told Sadiq they would protect his family and said he did not need to give an immediate answer, instead giving him a telephone number to contact by text message. Global Banking and Finance
The approach at the police station was preceded by a separate encounter at Manchester Airport. Sadiq said that four days before the meeting at the station, he was stopped and questioned — but not arrested — at Manchester Airport under Schedule 7 of the Terrorism Act. He was held for three hours, and his devices were again confiscated and returned shortly afterwards. During that questioning, officers asked him about Palestine Action, about Iran, about his financial situation, and about what he would do if a person near him at a mosque held extreme views. Global Banking and Finance
Sadiq said he decided to go public with his allegations after rejecting the offer, stating he did so to protect his own safety. His lawyer, Simon Pook, said he would file a formal complaint with the police on Sadiq’s behalf and drew a comparison with the conduct of the British state during the Troubles in Northern Ireland. “We’re unhappy that he was put in that position and offered inducements to work for the state,” Pook said. “Was the intention always to use Schedule 7 in order to offer the inducement? If that is the true intention, Schedule 7 was used unlawfully, because it’s got to be used where you believe somebody may be involved in or in an act of preparation of terrorism,” Pook said. Global Banking and Finance
Greater Manchester Police said it was unable to comment on the matter. Global Banking and Finance
Regional and Global Impact
The allegations land at a moment of intense scrutiny over the UK government’s use of counter-terrorism powers against Palestine Action supporters. Since Palestine Action was proscribed, hundreds of people have been arrested and charged with supporting the group. They include Swedish climate activist Greta Thunberg, who was arrested in December for holding a placard reading: “I support the Palestine Action prisoners. I oppose genocide.” Global Banking and Finance
UN human rights chief Volker Turk has criticised the proscription ban for using terrorism legislation to combat activities that constitute “legitimate exercise of fundamental freedom.” “The decision appears disproportionate and unnecessary,” Turk said last July. Lawyer Pook’s invocation of the Northern Ireland Troubles as a point of comparison is significant — the coercive recruitment of informants in that period produced decades of legal challenges and public inquiries into state conduct. Sadiq’s decision to go public rather than comply also means the alleged approach has been disclosed before any formal police process began, complicating any official response. Global Banking and Finance
Background
Palestine Action was proscribed 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. Schedule 7 of the Terrorism Act 2000 allows police and border officials to stop, question, and detain individuals at ports and airports for up to six hours without needing to hold reasonable suspicion of an offence — a power that civil liberties organisations have long said is disproportionately applied against Muslim travellers. Sadiq is known in his local area for pro-Palestine activism and involvement with marches. Local media reported last year that one of his cafes was targeted, with Israeli flags stuck to its door. The use of financial inducements and offers to disregard minor offences are recognised tactics in the recruitment of covert human intelligence sources, regulated under the Regulation of Investigatory Powers Act 2000. Global Banking and FinanceGlobal Banking and Finance
What Happens Next
Lawyer Simon Pook confirmed he will submit a formal complaint to the police on Sadiq’s behalf. That complaint is expected to trigger a formal review of the officers’ conduct, though the timeline for any police response has not been stated. Greater Manchester Police’s refusal to comment leaves the substantive allegations uncontested in the public record. Sadiq said he remains under investigation over a separate alleged Palestine Action-related offence from 2024, meaning the legal jeopardy he described as the context for the alleged approach has not been resolved. No member of parliament or government minister had issued a public response to the allegations as of Saturday afternoon. Global Banking and FinanceGlobal Banking and Finance
