The man entrusted with Britain's national security is married to a journalist who publicly questioned the testimony of Israeli rape victims, sneered at solidarity with Israel the day after October 7, and told James O'Brien he could "do better" than calling Hamas a "murderous death cult".
You'd have expected Sarah Helm to keep her head down while questions swirl about her husband, Jonathan Powell. You'd have expected wrong. On Monday, she waded in to defend the Palestine poppy, days after the Telegraph revealed that its creator, an NHS doctor, had circulated an image comparing Israel to a cancer.
Helm is entitled to her opinions, however grotesque. But when your husband is privy to the nation's deepest secrets, they cease to be a family matter.
Powell owes the public answers. The Cabinet Office owes us an explanation of what safeguards exist. And he should step down.
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