Private Eye jokes now ‘criminal’ as the magazine hits back at dumbass cops

Over the weekend, a pensioner was arrested in Leeds for holding a placard displaying a joke from Private Eye about Palestine Action. Jon Farley was detained by police at a silent protest for holding the following image:

Starmer’s Fascist Britain. Arrested for holding up a Private Eye Cartoon. We must all stand up and defend our democracy
🙏 pic.twitter.com/QRhwGi3B2l

— John Ashton ( you, us, I) (@Johnrashton47) July 23, 2025

As Farley was handcuffed he explained to officers that the joke was from Private Eye magazine, and offered to show them a copy that was in his backpack. However, Farley was arrested under section 12 of the Terrorism Act 2000. The act makes support for a proscribed organisation, in this instance, Palestine Action, illegal.

Private Eye

Farley said:

I thought, this is all a bit surreal. I clearly wasn’t any kind of physical threat. There was no need for them to act in the way they did.

He was released six hours later after questioning. But, his bail conditions state that he is not to attend any Palestine Action rallies. As the Guardian reported, Farley had never done such a thing in any case, and it would be illegal irrespective of his bail conditions.

Farley said:

I was just very shocked at first and then relieved, but now I’m thinking, hang on a minute, what happened here?

What really concerns me is the whole atmosphere of intimidation.

And, the officers who arrested Farley were apparently confused as to the application of the law. Farley recounted that:

I found out later somebody said to one of the police: ‘You know you can buy Private Eye in the newsagent just next to the van you’re putting him in, are you going to arrest Ian Hislop?’

So they’re coming out with all this guff about: ‘If it’s in print, it’s fine. But if you carry it on the demo [it’s illegal].’ That sounds to me like the police making up the law.

For his part, Private Eye editor Ian Hislop said of Farley’s arrest:

I did think it was mind-boggling. I mean, ludicrous.

Hislop also jokingly bemoaned that officers didn’t seem to know what Private Eye was:

That’s really depressing, isn’t it? That’s probably the most appalling thing.

Future impact

On social media, Private Eye’s social media account said:

Are Private Eye jokes now… criminal?

PALESTINE Solidarity campaigner Jon Farley was arrested, bundled into a van and taken to the cells during a silent march in Leeds last weekend. What egregious act had prompted the police to act? He was, er, carrying a Private Eye joke piece… pic.twitter.com/GojyQdXF7M

— Private Eye Magazine (@PrivateEyeNews) July 23, 2025

Writer Marc Jones called the arrest “dystopian”:

This story is so dystopian, using anti-terror legislation to arrest a man for holding up a cartoon from a beloved national magazine at a peaceful demo. I really lost it though when the police got the suspect's name after finding his "senior bus pass" https://t.co/75u3HxuB5g pic.twitter.com/xyPTFZaoIz

— Marc Owen Jones (@marcowenjones) July 23, 2025

Another social media user said:

Still waiting for the brave and rebellious reactionary free speech crusaders to say anything about this (insert Voltaire's fake quote)…

As should be obvious by now, it was always about racism, transphobia etc for these fascism enablershttps://t.co/f0IKpqw8Hl

— Aurelien Mondon (@aurelmondon) July 23, 2025

Stand up for Gaza

West Yorkshire Police said:

We are sorry that the man involved is unhappy with the circumstances of this arrest. As this is a new proscribed organisation, West Yorkshire police is considering any individual or organisational learning from this incident.

Unfortunately, while police work out how to apply the law it would appear that citizens are at risk from a draconian and farcical law.

Farley, however, remains unbowed. He told the Socialist Worker:

We’ve got to stand up. We’ve got to stand up for Gaza. We can’t let them stop us speaking out.

Featured image via the Canary