Sadiq, 51, from Didsbury, said that when he attended Ashton-under-Lyne police station on 15 May, two officers he believes were from Operation Wildflower – a response by Greater Manchester police (GMP) and others to the war on Gaza – asked to speak to him “man to man”.

The officers told him that having checked his devices, they knew he was “fully involved” with Palestine Action but that they would not be charging him in relation to last year’s arrest, Sadiq said.

“They said to me: ‘We need your help. Look, there’s benefits in helping us,’” he told the Guardian. “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.’

“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.’”