George Galloway and wife 'detained under terrorism laws' at Gatwick Airport on return from Moscow
The Workers Party leader was stopped by counter-terror police after flying into London from Moscow via Abu Dhabi, according to reports
Former MP George Galloway and his wife were detained under the Counter-Terrorism and Border Security Act after flying into Gatwick Airport on Saturday.
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The Workers Party leader was stopped by counter-terror officers after flying into London from Moscow via Abu Dhabi, according to reports.
The party made the allegation on Saturday afternoon, claiming the detainment was politically motivated.
The Metropolitan Police confirmed that Mr Galloway and Putri Gayatri Pertiwi were detained under schedule 3 of the Counter Terrorism and Border Security Act 2019.
The laws used allow officers to stop, question, search and detain a person at a border area to determine if they have engaged in hostile activity.
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A Met spokesman told the Telegraph: “We can confirm that on Saturday, 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.
“Neither of them were arrested and they were allowed on their way.”
On X (formerly Twitter), the Workers Party of Britain said: “At 11am we were informed by police officers in Gatwick that our party leader George Galloway and his wife have been detained at the airport.
“The police agreed that they would pass a message to our comrades from us and pass back a reply from them.
”Despite repeated attempts to gather further information, and despite repeated calls to the police, we have no further information on their wellbeing, nor on the observation of their rights.
”There is no information on charges or alleged offences. Therefore we may conclude this is politically motivated intimidation.”