Cafe owner says UK police tried to recruit him to spy on Palestine Action

<article data-history-node-id="441393" about="https://www.middleeasteye.net/live-blog/live-blog-update/cafe-owner-says-uk-police-tried-recruit-him-spy-palestine-action" class="live-blog-update default clearfix"> <h2> <a href="https://www.middleeasteye.net/live-blog/live-blog-update/cafe-owner-says-uk-police-tried-recruit-him-spy-palestine-action" rel="bookmark"> <span class="field field-title">Cafe owner says UK police tried to recruit him to spy on Palestine Action</span> </a> </h2> <div class="content"> <div class="field field-field-text"><p>A cafe owner in northern England has said&nbsp;<a href="https://www.middleeasteye.net/countries/uk" target="_blank">British</a>&nbsp;police offered him financial incentives and promised to turn a blind eye to some low-level offences if he informed on the proscribed group Palestine Action.</p> <p>The Guardian reported on Saturday that a man named Shams Sadiq, the owner of two cafes in Manchester, said he was offered inducements by the police.&nbsp;</p> <p>The offers were made when he went to pick up electronic devices confiscated by police during his arrest last year over alleged offences linked to Palestine Action, Sadiq said.</p> <p>The direct action group was proscribed last year 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.</p> <p>Sadiq said he went to Ashton-under-Lyne Police Station on 15 May, where two officers asked to speak with him “man to man”.&nbsp;</p> <h3>Read more:&nbsp;<a aria-label="Cafe owner says UK police tried to recruit him to spy on Palestine Action" href="https://www.middleeasteye.net/news/cafe-owner-says-uk-police-tried-recruit-him-spy-palestine-action">Cafe owner says UK police tried to recruit him to spy on Palestine Action</a></h3> <p><img alt="Police officers detain a protester during a Lift The Ban demonstration in support of the proscribed group Palestine Action in London on 4 October 2025 (Justin Tallis/AFP)" src="https://www.middleeasteye.net/sites/default/files/styles/max_2600x2600/public/images-story/police-arrest-protester-palestine-action-london-uk-afp.jpg.jpg?itok=gua484TL"></p> </div> </div> </article>