PR boss embroiled in Palestine Action 'placed story' row is Labour councillor

A Labour Party councillor, Georgia Pickering, is the head of a public relations firm representing the Israeli arms company Elbit Systems. Her firm, CMS Strategic, is embroiled in a controversy over allegations that it helped place a newspaper story suggesting Iran was funding the activist group Palestine Action. This story appeared around the same time the UK's Labour government banned Palestine Action, a group that frequently targets Elbit's facilities. Both the Labour Party and CMS Strategic have denied the allegations, which were first reported by Private Eye magazine.