The Police & Security Services Are Using Financial Terrorism To Add to My Malicious Prosecution for ‘Terrorism’

It is a Kafkaesque Situation in Which False Allegations are Made to Banks Which They Are Not Allowed to Reveal & I Am Not Allowed to Know

How activists are fighting terror charges for standing up with Palestine, with Tony Greenstein

In theory you are innocent until proven guilty but as the Filton 18 have learnt once the word ‘terrorism’ is uttered the State can lie with impunity and engage in any underhand smear tactics.

They do this with the complicity of the Judiciary who go weak at the knees once the magic words ‘terrorism’ and ‘national security’ are uttered. Those of us with long memories remember Spycatcher, the autobiography of an embittered MI5 agent Peter Wright.

British judges, all the way to the Law Lords upheld an injunction against their publication despite them being freely available in the United States. It was only in October 1988 when the Australian Supreme Court ruled that they should be published that their Lordships saw the futility of upholding their injunctions when everyone outside these shores knew what was in Spycatcher.

National security had become a code word for avoiding embarrassment to the Thatcher government until even Britain’s judges realised that they were like Ethelred the Unready trying to halt the waves. So it is with ‘terrorism’. With the proscription of Palestine Action it merely means a group that the Establishment doesn't like.

Never was the saying that ‘one man’s terrorist is another man’s freedom fighter’ more true.

We see this with the false allegations of Iranian money having funded Palestine Action. The Home Office gave anonymous briefings to any journalist willing to act as an unpaid government prostitute. Anyone who knows anything about Palestine Action knows that this is a lie. There is not a scrap of evidence to support it.

But when you have waged a war on the basis of a ‘dodgy dossier’ as happened with Iraq, then lying comes easily. Or as the Cabinet Secretary Robert Armstrong conceded to Malcolm Turnbull in the Australian High Court it is the duty of civil servants and politicians to be ‘economical with the truth’.

All this is by way of introduction. My ordeal began last summer, even before I was charged under the notorious s.12(1A) of the Terrorism Act 2000  with ‘expressing an opinion or belief’ that was supportive of a proscribed organisation.

In 2019 Priti Patel, who had been sacked by Theresa May for lying about her ‘holiday’ in Israel where she met Netanyahu, was brought back into office by that model of probity, Boris Johnson, and she promptly amended the Terrorism Act 2000 to make it illegal to utter any words that might be construed as supporting a proscribed organisation.

Brilliant piece of work by @MadocCairns showing how ministers in parliament at time of enactment of the 2000 Terrorism law explicitly stated it would not be used to define as “terrorist” acts of protest like those committed by Palestine Action https://t.co/2ojR6da8Sm

— David Bergman (@TheDavidBergman) July 4, 2025

The definition of terrorism in the Act is so broad that it could catch anyone out who opposes British foreign policy in some area of the world. Despite being told by Ministers when the original Terrorism Act was passed in 2000 that it wouldn’t be used against protest groups that is exactly what happened against Palestine Action.

In July 2024 my bank account at Nationwide was closed for regulatory reasons, which basically means they don’t have to tell you the reason why they are closing the account. At the time I had believed that the closure of my accounts related to a row between me and Nationwide over their refusal to send payments to the Al Tafawk Children’s Centre in Jenin.

At the time Nationwide insisted that their hostility to transferring money to Palestinians was not the reason for the closure of my accounts. Today it is clear that they had been contacted on behalf of the Police/CPS/Security Services and fed false allegations about me.

At the time I assumed that this was a one-off.  Then in March First Direct, a bank that I had been with for 33 years, suddenly froze my account.  Equally mysteriously they unfroze it two weeks later but without giving any explanation.

Fast forward to today.  Yesterday I had an ‘urgent’ email from them that I should log in to my account, which I did. There was a message that read:

At first direct we conduct regular reviews of our accounts. Having considered our position, we're writing to confirm we're no longer able to provide you with banking products and services.

We cannot provide any further information about the closure decision. However, if you have any other queries, please call us on 03 456 100 100. Lines are open 9am - 5pm Monday to Friday. It is not our intention, or that of any member of the HSBC Group, to provide you with banking facilities in the future and you should not make any such application.

The first paragraph was of course a lie. There has never before been a ‘regular review’ of my account. What had clearly happened was that the Police/ Security Services had provided false information to the bank which I am not allowed to see and they are apparently not allowed to divulge. I can only presume that they are saying that I am suspected of funding terrorist groups.

At least that is what I suspect. Because in the land of Kafka you are never allowed to know what the case against you is. Or to quote Kafka’s The Trial "It's not a matter of what you have done, but of what you are." Because I do not know the allegations that have been made against me so it is impossible to rebut them.

Last night I emailed the CEO of First Direct, Christopher Pitt to explain the situation and got the following response which seems to be much the same as received last time around.

Tony,

 

Hello.

 

Thank you for your e-mail. I’m sorry to hear about your experience.

 

At first direct we always want to deliver great customer service, but as a human-powered digital bank sometimes things can go wrong. I’ve asked the team to have a look at your concerns in more detail and we’ll get back to you within 5 working days once we’ve had the time to review.

 

Feedback like yours is important to us, so thank you again for writing to me. 

Two week’s ago First Direct’s parent bank HSBC closed a joint account I had opened with my wife in February this year. The only purpose of the account was to pay in money for the care of our autistic son but that is irrelevant because the Police and the Security Services had deemed that I was funding Iran’s ballistic missile programme or some such ‘terror’ activity.

When I complained a ‘complaint specialist’ Dave Ridgway (note the informality) explained, in almost identical words to First Direct that:

HSBC periodically reviews its services, products and accounts. This means that sometimes we take the decision to close a customer’s accounts.

Following a recent review, the bank decided that it would no longer be able to provide you with banking services or products. I’m aware that a letter was sent to you on 27th June to advise that your accounts had been closed.

In my response I pointed out, paraphrasing Sir Henry Wotton’s famous phrase, that ‘Ambassadors are sent abroad to lie for their country but it seems that HSBC ‘specialists’ are also trained to lie when they are given the opportunity.’

In fact the original quote is that an Ambassador is ‘an honest man sent to lie abroad for the good of his country’. Honesty is not a quality that HSBC seems to value in their employees.

And just to round it off, Santander is also currently investigating my personal account!  So I think we can assume that none of this is a coincidence. But what it demonstrates is that the Prosecution in my case is determined to do its best to try and unnerve and destabilise me in advance of the case they are bringing, which essentially consists of trying to make it a criminal offence to support armed resistance against the genocidal Israeli war machine.

Of course, as I never hesitate to point out, there is a law on the statute book that makes aiding and abetting a genocide a crime punishable by 30 years in prison. However if that law, the s.52 International Criminal Court Act 2001 were enforced then most of the government, led by Sir Starmer himself would be locked up in Pentonville for a couple of decades.

First Direct also like to boast of their high ratings on Trust Pilot which is ostensibly neutral.  But following an objection to my posting above by FD Trust Pilot took my review down.  It raises the question as to whether or not there is any financial link between the companies being reviewed and Trust Pilot.

The above reply said that they remove 'terrorism related content' and content that 'praises, supports or represents hate groups.'  Neither of these apply.  I said nothing about terrorism other than to point out my forthcoming  prosecution under the TA 2000 and the fact that a protest group had been proscribed as a terrorist group. 

There was certainly nothing praising hate groups or their ideology or denial of hate crimes. It was one long lie so people, when they read reviews on Trustpilot need to bear in mind that anything critical of big corporations has probably already been weeded out.

When I pointed this out Rakash simply repeated himself but didn't deny that my post had been taken down at First Direct's request.

Below are a few email addresses for the relevant banks to those who would like to email them to ask for their reasons for debanking me or to complain.

Tony Greenstein

customerservices.mmx@hsbc.co.uk

complaints.mmx@hsbc.co.uk

24hours@firstdirect.com

fd.customerrelations.mmx@firstdirect.com

Review.Team@nationwide.co.uk

christopher.j.pitt@firstdirect.com CEO of first direct

The Sun’s Lies Nailed by the Hillsborough Independent Panel

Head of South Yorkshire Police's Black Propaganda Unit - Sir Norman Bettinson - Chief Constable of West Yorkshire Police and ex-Merseyside Police Chief - Doesn't Get It But Will Soon

They Libelled the Dead to Flatter A Violent & Corrupt Police Force

Kelvin MacKenzie - BBC Low Life and Editor of the Infamous Edition - he apologised before only to retract

The horror of those at the front of the pen - metal fences designed to stop fans running on the pitch spelt death to those at the front

Trevor  Hicks - Chair of the Family Support Campaign at Press Conference - described Kelvin MacKenzie as 'low life but clever low life'

Another example of the Sun under Mackenzie glorying in Thatcher's mass murder of Argentinian naval conscripts

These are the people that the Sun libelled

Liverpool Fans Won't Forgive Postger

Fans trying to escape the crush are hauled up by Liverpool fans - not the cops

I can remember the tragedy of Hillsborough well enough.  I spent most of my childhood living in Liverpool and came from there to study in Brighton in 1974.  The tragedy of 96 dead at Hillsborough had an enormous impact on the people of Liverpool.  What they didn’t expect or deserve was to be libelled by a corrupt police force and their mouthpiece, the equally corrupt and rotten Sun ‘newspaper’.

Gathering at Liverpool's famous St. George's Hall

The second reason why I can remember the tragedy was because, with cruel irony, it was the day on which I got married, April 15 1989.  I came home from the reception only to learn of the unfolding horrors of an FA Cup semi-final at Hillsborough between Liverpool and Nottingham Forest. 

But no one should believe that this was an ‘error’ for which the Sun has now profusely apologised.  It was par for the course.  That headline ‘The Truth’ has come to haunt the Sun’s owners like no other headline, but the Scum’s regrets are purely financial.  Its infamous editor, Kelvin MacKenzie, glorified in the deaths of one thousand sailor aboard the General Belgrano during the Falklands/Malvinas war. ‘Gotcha’ was the infamous headline, for which he received plaudits for capturing the 'national mood'.

MacKenzie has now offered his  ‘profuse apologies to the people of Liverpool’  after 23 years and the Taylor Inquiry of 1990, which saw through the lies of the Police.  Taylor was the most liberal Lord Chief Justice Britain has had until his premature death in 1996.

What can be more pathetic than this wretched former editor explaining why he was duped:

''I had absolutely no reason to believe that these authority figures would lie and deceive over such a disaster.”  

No of course not.  People in authority never lie.  Only benefit ‘scroungers’, the unemployed, strikers and the disabled lie.  The poor can only live by lying, whereas the rich and powerful are paragons of virtue who only need to have a quiet word in one’s ear.  But the era of the Sun is over as its circulation declines.  The Sun and its stablemate, the News of the World got their comeuppance in the phone hacking scandal when they went too far and started hacking into the phones of royalty and the powerful.

As Trevor Hicks, Chairman of the Liverpool Families Support Group said of MacKenzie, he is ‘low life, clever low life, but low life.’  Which is why the BBC regularly uses him as a pundit.  The BBC has a particular fondness for far-right presenters from Jeremy Clarkson, Robert Kilroy-Silk (remember him?) to Kelvin MacKenzie.  It’s what they call balance and impartiality.

But the Sun’s attacks on Liverpool fans was of a piece with its consistent attacks on workers since Murdoch took over.  Its villification of the Miners’ year long strike to keep the pits open was second to none.  Any worker defending his or her job and rights was fair game.  It was the Sun that helped destroy the printing unions when they moved to Wapping.  The Sun has always been viciously anti-union and it was the Sun 'wot won it for the Tories'.

Far-right scumbag and Sun owner Rupert Murdoch - not a good year

South Yorkshire police had a reputation second to none.  Their late unlamented Chief Constable Peter Wright had learnt how to mass produce false police testimony during the trial of 95 striking miners at Sheffield Crown Court over the picket of the Orgreave coking plant in August 1985.  The Police case collapsed when their own video demonstrated that they had lied and a police signature was shown to have been forged (the statement itself was 'lost').  Interestingly Peter Wright was Deputy Chief Constable of Merseyside Police at the time of the Toxteth riots.  What goes around, comes around.

Chairman of the Independent Panel which finally uncovered the extent of police malpractice

 Michael Mansfield QC, then a young barrister, first came to prominence during these proceedings and was initially the subject of a Bar Council disciplinary action.  It was the time when the BBC reversed a sequence of film to show police horses charging in reaction to miners throwing missiles at them.  In fact it was the miners who were the ones who were reacting.  What the South Yorkshire police learnt at Orgreave they put into effect at Hillsborough.

I was one of a number of people who went on a solidarity visit from Brighton Miners’ Support Group to stay with the striking miners of Armthorpe in the winter of 1984.  Their colliery, Markham Main was solid throughout the strike.  We learnt that the Police had sealed off the village earlier that year for three days and gone on a violent rampage through it.

Racist, sexist, homophobic – the Sun was all these things and more.  It regretted nothing but the boycott of the Sun by ordinary working class Liverpool people, which persists to this day, hurt it where it mattered - in its pocket.

It is a matter of shame in Liverpool to be seen in possession of this rag. The Sun is owned by the mega-rich far-right ex-Australian, now US citizen, Rupert Murdoch, whose media channels, such as Fox, regularly attack anyone who is poor, homeless or seeks justice.

It is no accident that the most pro-Zionist newspaper of the British press and the most anti-Muslim, has consistently been the Sun.  Racism and contempt for independent working class politics go hand in hand.

An apology as genuine as a 9 bob note

The Suns’ apology is as genuine as a nine bob note.  Its only concern is its ability to raise funds for News International.  It lives on jingoism and patriotism.  A hatred of anyone who is different.  But patriotism has always been the last refuge of a scoundrel.  Scapegoating is the Sun's bread and butter.

The Sun supported the Iraq war and the million dead that followed, long after even the most atavistic supporter of war had seen through Blair’s lies.  It is, after all, the paper of ‘our boys’ or rather Exxon and BP, and British capitalism’s need to punch above its weight.  ‘Our boys’ tend to be forgotten though when they are dead or crippled.

The Princess landing stage where thousands of Irish immigrants entered Liverpool

Liverpool’s fortunes were initially built on the Atlantic slave trade.  Its fine buildings, such as St. George’s Hall are a testament to the wealth that poured into the city.  But Liverpool was also known as the capital of Ireland.  Thousands poured in after the Great Famine in 1840.  It is estimated that ¾ of Liverpudlians have some Irish descent.  Coupled with the oldest Chinese community in Britain and the Somali and Caribbean communities, Liverpool is truly Britain’s melting pot.  Liverpool also had a sizeable Jewish community, at least 8-9,000 when I first lived there, although it is probably little more than 2,000 now.

In the 1960’s it was of course famous for the Merseybeat and The Beatles.  It represented the cultural and musical hub of Britain.  John Lennon in his Sometime in New York City album wrote Sunday Bloody Sunday, about the massacre by the Parachute Regiment in Derry (another cover-up exposed) and the pro-IRA ‘Luck of the Irish’ – a haunting ballad.  Even Tory Paul McCartney had a single about returning Ireland to the Irish.

And coupled with this was the fabled militancy of Liverpool workers who tenaciously defended their jobs and conditions at Fords Halewood, Girling Brakes, Metalbox and many other factories located largely in what is now the industrial desert of Speke.  The dockers, all 10,000 of them, were the most militant in the country.  In 1984-5 Liverpool Council, under Militant control, refused to set a rate and all its councillors were surcharged though at the height of the Miners' strike they reached a deal with Tory local government minister Patrick Jenkins, only to be isolated the following year.

Still senile - Thatcher visiting Hillsborough the day after deplored Peter Taylor's report .  She urged Home Secretary Douglas Hurd not to welcome its 'broad thrust'

It was this militancy which led to a particular Tory hatred of Liverpool.  When the riots of July 1981 started they were fiercest in Toxteth, Liverpool 8, where I had lived.  An old furniture shop the Rialto was burnt out at the junction of Princes and Upper Parliament roads, as was a National Westminster bank branch.  When I went back to visit friends in Liverpool 8 I was walking down the street when 2 cops passed.  They said ‘good evening sir’ and I nearly collapsed.  My only encounters with them previously had been when physically attacked by what were just thugs in uniform.  Liverpool 8 had its revenge on the corrupt and brutal Liverpool police force and in their wake Michael Heseltine arrived with his business and banker chums to set up a glorified flower garden.

Banner of those seeking justice for the 96 killed

The Sun’s venom over Hillsborough was nothing out of the ordinary.  It was born out of a hatred of the class militancy and independence of ordinary working class Liverpool people.  It is that which led the Sun to lie that people had attacked police 'rescuers' and pickpocketed the dead.  The Sun’s contempt 23 years ago has been was of a piece with the most despicable rag that has ever called itself a newspaper. 

The days of Sir Norman Bettison, Chief Constable of West Yorkshire Police and also a former Chief Constable of Merseyside Police, are also numbered.  An inveterate liar who co-ordinated the editing of police witness statements for the Taylor inquiry, removing ‘hearsay and emotional baggage’ is likely to be forced to resign, since even now he doesn’t get it. 

Tony Greenstein