ARTISTS who support Palestine Action may no longer be paid for works published in Britain in “a truly extreme incursion by the state into the realm of artistic expression,” the High Court heard today.

Award-winning Normal People author Sally Rooney told a judicial review that her books may have to be withdrawn from sale in Britain after Downing Street said she risked committing a terrorist offence by expressing support for the banned group.

She had pledged to donate earnings from her books and BBC adaptations of novels Normal People and Conversations With Friends to support Palestine Action in August.

In a witness statement supporting its co-founder Huda Ammori’s legal action against the Home Office proscription in July, Ms Rooney stated that the producer of those programmes said they had been advised that they could not send money to her agent if it could be used to fund Palestine Action, as that would be a crime under anti-terror laws.

“If I were to write another screenplay, television show or similar creative work, I would not be able to have it produced or distributed by a company based in England and Wales without, expressly or tacitly, accepting that I would not be paid,” she said.

The 34-year-old writer added that “uncertainty” about how the ban affects her contracts also means her existing works may have to be withdrawn from sale in Britain, to prevent her being paid royalties for them.

It is “almost certain” that she cannot publish or produce new work in the country while the ban remains in force, she said, adding: “I am of the view that the passionate opposition to this proscription is due not only to the broad base of support for direct action against genocide, but also to the unprecedented misuse of anti-terrorism legislation to curtail civil liberties.”

Sir James Eadie KC, for the Home Office, said a debate about how a terrorist organisation is defined was for Parliament to decide.

The hearing before Dame Victoria Sharp, Mr Justice Swift and Mrs Justice Steyn is due to conclude on December 2, with a decision expected in writing at a later date.