Key facts
- UK Minister Mike Tapp is accused of trying to bait Green Party leader Zack Polanski into a terrorism offense.
- The accusation stems from Tapp asking Polanski if he supports the proscribed group Palestine Action.
- Supporting a proscribed organization is a terrorism offense punishable by up to 14 years in prison in the UK.
- The UK's Court of Appeal recently upheld the government's ban on Palestine Action.
- Critics argue Tapp's question was an attempt to provoke Polanski into an illegal admission.
A UK government minister has been accused of attempting to provoke Green Party leader Zack Polanski into committing a terrorism offense by asking him whether he supports the direct action group Palestine Action. The group was proscribed as a terrorist organization by the Labour government last year, making it a criminal offense punishable by up to 14 years in prison to invite support for it.
The accusation arose after Mike Tapp, the under-secretary of state for migration and citizenship, publicly questioned Polanski on X (formerly Twitter) about his support for Palestine Action. Polanski responded by stating that the government's law making it illegal to answer 'yes' was a 'damning testament' to its disregard for civil liberties and set a dangerous precedent.
Prominent journalist Owen Jones and LSE researcher Alonso Gurmendi Dunkelberg were among those who criticized Tapp's question, with Jones calling it an 'unhinged law' and Dunkelberg highlighting the severe potential punishment for answering the question directly. Many online commentators accused Tapp of deliberately trying to goad Polanski into an incriminating response.
This incident follows a recent decision by the UK's Court of Appeal, which overturned a High Court ruling and declared the government's ban on Palestine Action lawful. The judges found the ban struck a fair balance between individual rights and national security, though they acknowledged its potential 'chilling effect' on free expression. Since the ban, thousands of individuals have reportedly been arrested for displaying signs in support of the group.