Police offered Manchester cafe owner cash, immunity to grass on Palestine Action

Greater Manchester Police offered cafe-owner Shams Sadiq cash — and carte blanche to commit ‘certain’ crimes — if he would inform on anti-genocide group Palestine Action (PA) and his fellow Muslims. Sadiq, from Didsbury, was approached when he went to collect devices the police had confiscated after a 2025 raid connected to the group. The Starmer regime unlawfully banned PA as a terror group in 2025 at the behest of the Israeli government and lobby groups.

The government is still trying to overturn the High Court’s ruling that the ban breached human and free speech rights. Police continue to arrest people for protesting against the ban.

During Sadiq’s visit, the police told him he was “fully involved” with PA, but that they were not going to charge him — because they wanted him to grass the group up and inform on other Muslims:

They said to me: ‘We need your help. Look, there’s benefits in helping us.’ I’m like: ‘What kind of benefits? Financial benefits? Are you going to pay my taxes?’ They said: ‘Oh, we can help with things like that.’

Sadiq says he was also offered immunity for “certain” crimes:

The other guy said to me: ‘Oh, there’s other benefits, too.’ They said: ‘We’re not saying you can go out and commit a serious crime but we can turn a blind eye to certain things. [For example] We don’t care about speeding. …

…they said I am involved and maybe be an informer. They also said I’m quite respected in my community, so maybe they think I would help them find Muslims in the mosque with extreme views.

Greater Manchester Police — Softening-up

He added that he had also been questioned, four days before the police offer, under Schedule 7 of the Terrorism Act as he returned from a holiday in Morocco. The questioning covered Palestine Action and his finances. Under the unfit and draconian Act, if someone is detained at an airport they do not have the right to have a lawyer present and refusing to answer any questions or provide device passwords is a criminal offence. The Starmer regime has frequently used this against opponents of genocide and especially journalists who expose Israel’s crimes.

The detention was plainly an attempt to soften Sadiq up in preparation for the police approach. He was ordered to meet the same two police operatives at a cafe in Manchester Airport three days later, where they turned ‘good cop’ and apologised for his ordeal before returning devices that had again been confiscated.

Sadiq says he has gone public to ensure his safety after rejecting the offer:

I feel like I need protection from the police rather than anything else. It’s scary that I’ve got this marker on my passport for doing nothing. If they’ve got something on me, then charge me.

Greater Manchester Police did not respond to requests for comment. Sadiq has brought in lawyers.

Featured image via Carl Recine/Getty Images