PSNI probe councillor's 'proscribed' T-shirt

The T-shirt worn by Independent Councillor Gary Donnelly at a Derry City and Strabane District Council meeting is being investigated by the PSNI under the Terrorism Act 2000.

Cllr Donnelly received a letter from the force’s Public Order Enquiry Team (POET) last week stating it had “grounds to suspect” he may have “committed an offence contrary to Section 13 of the Terrorism Act 2000 on July 23, 2025, whilst in attendance at a Derry City and Strabane District Council meeting”.

The letter gave the grounds for “suspicion of this offence contrary to Section 13 of the Terrorism Act 2000” as Cllr Donnelly having been “identified wearing a ‘Palestine Action’ t-shirt during this meeting which was also livestreamed via YouTube. 

Letter to Independent Councillor Gary Donnelly from PSNI about the T-shirt he wore to a meeting of Derry City and Strabane District Council.

“Police also have grounds to suspect that you may have committed an offence under Section 12 (1a) of the Terrorism Act 2000 in that you expressed an opinion or belief that is supportive of a proscribed organisation, in this case Palestine Action, and that in doing so were reckless as to whether a person would be encouraged to support the organisation,” added the letter.

Speaking to The Derry News, Cllr Donnelly described the letter as “an attempt to intimidate and criminalise people who are activists against the genocide that has played out in Palestine, particularly in Gaza”.

“I have my own views on the so-called ‘democratic process’ here but those who espouse the democratic process and champion it need to acknowledge this as state interference.”

Cllr Donnelly said he was not going to engage with the PSNI in relation to the letter.

Letter to Independent Councillor Gary Donnelly from PSNI about the T-shirt he wore to a meeting of Derry City and Strabane District Council.

“This attempted criminalisation is government policy. We are ruled by the British Government here and we see its actions in England where 81-year-olds, 90-year-olds, and disabled people are being arrested under the Terrorism Act,” he added. 

“It is an attempt to basically intimidate people because the Governments have been found wanting, even with the International Criminal Court and its definition of genocide.

“Government’s are still arming and they are still financing Israel. Even in Stormont they are still funding firms that are supplying parts for F35s [stealth fighter aircraft] and it is left to ordinary activists on the ground to expose genocide.

“This is a very serious attempt to bully and intimidate them off the streets. For me, this is nothing new, but for those who champion the so-called ‘democratic process’ it is direct interference. 

“This was a Council meeting and there was nobody in the Council meeting who objected. A recording of the meeting is still online. I am unclear of the nature of the investigation because the letter mentions wearing a T-shirt and expressing an opinion. I don’t know if the opinion was something I said or if it is the fact I wore the T-Shirt,” said Cllr Donnelly, who added no issues were expressed during the Council meeting about his T-shirt.

“There were no issues from the public of which I am aware but I won’t be engaging,” said Cllr Donnelly.

“This isn’t the first time. I have been on bail for a significant period of time for activism in a shop in town where we removed Israeli goods. That only concluded recently but during that significant period of time, six to eight months, I was on bail with conditions that I wasn’t allowed to go near Home Bargains,” he added.

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“Effectively what is happening is the State is rallying around and protecting the interests of Zionism and it will target whoever they see as exposing that. 

“The intention of this letter is probably to stifle discussion [in Council] because they are going to several different angles in this. 

“They are going to people who are protesting on the street. They are going to people who would maybe say something at a public rally. They are charging people who may have been carrying a placard and now they have taken it into the political arena where councillors, who have a mandate and are debating it in an open and transparent way which is streamed live and is all minuted, are being attacked. That’s what states do.”