A group of prominent cultural figures has issued an open letter criticizing UK anti-terror legislation, citing the withdrawal of Irish novelist Sally Rooney’s books from sale in the United Kingdom. The letter argues that the removal of her works constitutes censorship and violates fundamental principles of free speech.
Rooney’s publisher, Faber & Faber, announced the withdrawal, stating that continuing to sell her books in the UK would place the company in an untenable legal position regarding the transmission of earnings to the author. According to the publisher, the situation arose from circumstances where it cannot pass on UK revenues to Rooney without potentially violating anti-terror legislation. Rooney herself indicated that further publication of her work could expose her to serious criminal liability.
The signatories of the open letter include prominent actors such as Paul Mescal, Susan Sarandon, and Tilda Swinton; broadcaster Gary Lineker; acclaimed writers including Arundhati Roy, Naomi Klein, and Zadie Smith; and filmmaker Jonathan Glazer, among others. The letter characterizes the anti-terror law as “a repressive absurdity” and calls on the government to amend the legislation.
The letter’s publication coincides with the upcoming Supreme Court hearing on the designation of Palestine Action as a terrorist organization, scheduled to occur two weeks following the letter’s release. Both physical and e-book versions of Rooney’s work have been removed from UK retail channels, though some physical copies remain available through bookshops. The author has sold more than six million copies of her four novels globally.
Article Attribution | Read More at Article Source
Article summary produced by Claude AI