Cliff Notes: The Terrorism act become a political weapon?
- George Galloway and his wife were held for nine hours by counter-terrorism police at Gatwick Airport before being released without charge, with no justification provided for their detention.
- Their confiscated devices included a phone and laptop, which Galloway claimed were taken to access their private communications.
- Galloway expressed concerns over the powers of police under the Counter Terrorism and Border Security Act, noting the implications for civil liberties.
George Galloway and wife detained ‘for nine hours’ by counter terror police at Gatwick airport | UK News
George Galloway has said he was held by counter terror police for nine hours at a London airport before being released without charge on Saturday.
Mr Galloway and his wife, Putri Gayatri Pertiwi, were allowed on their way after being stopped under the terrorism act, the Metropolitan Police said.
The former MP, 71, said he had his phone and laptop confiscated at Gatwick Airport, claiming officers stopped him “for no reason at all” other than to “gain access to our communications”.
Reports said the couple had returned to the UK from Moscow via Abu Dhabi.
Mr Galloway detailed the incident in the introduction to Sunday’s edition of his online broadcast Mother Of All Talkshows.
“Not a single effort was made to show cause for having detained me and her with armed officers in public in an English airport,” he said.
Addressing viewers, he continued: “If they can arrest me under the terrorism act at an English airport, what hope have you got?”
Officers questions ranged “far and wide, right down to Gayatri’s famous fingernail painted in the Palestinian colours”, Mr Galloway said.
This was a terrible mistake by British police
“They’re too stupid to be anti-terrorism police, they’re too stupid to be in MI5 if they think they can intimidate me, not even death will intimidate me.”
He then claimed the “one reason” they were detained was for officials “to gain access to our communications, to confiscate phones, to confiscate laptops, and to enter and burgle and see what they can do with our private communications”.
Mr Galloway said he had travelled to the UK to give a speech at a London event set to attended by the Chinese ambassador.
He added that he missed the engagement.
The Met Police said in a statement on Saturday: “We can confirm that on Saturday September 27, counter terrorism officers at Gatwick Airport stopped a man in his 70s and a woman in her 40s under Schedule 3 of the Counter Terrorism and Border Security Act 2019.”
The act gives police, immigration and customs officers the power to stop people in order to find out if they are “engaged in hostile activities that threaten national security or the economic well-being of the UK”.
Mr Galloway, leader of The Workers Party of Britain, lost his Rochdale seat at last year’s general election, just months after winning it in a by-election.