The laws have been criticised for allowing excessive police powers leaving scope for abuse. There have been various cases in which the laws have been used in scenarios criticised for being unrelated to fighting terrorism. Critics allege there is systematic abuse of the act against protesters. Critics of the Act claim that, in practice, police are using Section 44 emergency powers as "an additional tool in their day-to-day policing kit" to stop and search innocent citizens without reasonable grounds, going beyond the original intention of Parliament. One of the issues arising from the Section 44 authorisations has been the use of the Act to detain lawful protestors or other people who are in the vicinity of demonstrations. Critics claim the Act gives police extended powers to deter or prevent peaceful protest. Problematic use of Section 44 powers has not been restricted to political protestors; according to reports, journalists, amateur and professional photographers,
trainspotters, politicians and children have been subject to stop and search under suspicion of being involved in terrorist activities while engaged in lawful acts such as photography. The taking of photographs in public spaces is permitted under the
Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988 (
freedom of panorama), and while the Terrorism Act does not prohibit such activity, (Further restrictions on photography have, however, been introduced with the
Counter-Terrorism Act 2008) Disquiet among the police and government about Section 44 increased; in an interview on
BBC Radio 4's programme
iPM, Peter Smyth, chairman of the Metropolitan Police Federation, remarked that the Act was not clear about police and that a lack of training for police officers had led to some officers being "overzealous" in implementing the Act.
Vernon Coaker, the
Minister of State stated on 20 April 2009 that, "counter-terrorism measures should only be used for counter-terrorism purposes". In December 2009, the
Association of Chief Police Officers (Acpo) issued a warning to police chiefs to stop using Section 44 powers to target photographers, whether tourists, amateurs or professionals, stating that the practice was "unacceptable". As of 2011, the Section 44 powers effectively no longer exist (
see above), and police must "reasonably" suspect an individual of involvement in terrorism before intervening.
Incidents General • In October 2005, Sally Cameron was held for four hours after being arrested under the act for walking on a cycle path in a controlled port area in
Dundee owned by
Forth Ports. While cyclists were free to pass through the port zone, she was arrested and detained because she was a pedestrian and under suspicion of being a terrorist. • In July 2008, anti-terror police held a 12-year-old
autistic boy with
cerebral palsy and his parents whilst travelling on the
Eurotunnel Shuttle rail service under Section 7 of the Terrorism Act. The child's mother was taken to an interrogation room and questioned on suspicion of
child trafficking and released without charge.
Kent Police later apologised for the incident. • In August 2013, while travelling home from a visit to Germany, carrying work in progress relating to
classified US government documents to
Glenn Greenwald in Brazil,
David Miranda, 28, was detained by the
Metropolitan Police Service at London's
Heathrow Airport under Schedule 7 of the Terrorism Act 2000.
Section 12 Journalist
Richard Medhurst was arrested under section 12 in August 2024. His electronic devices were seized and he was ordered to surrender his passwords to allow police to gain access to the data on his devices. Medhurst refused to provide the passwords. His arrest was condemned by the
National Union of Journalists and the
International Federation of Journalists.
Rebecca Vincent from
Reporters Sans Frontières said the seizure of a journalist's equipment during an arrest "at best intimidates journalists working on sensitive topics, and at worst it compromises the protection of journalistic sources".
Section 44 • In September 2003, two people, Kevin Gillan and Pennie Quinton, intending to protest against the Defence Systems Equipment International (DSEI) show in London's
Docklands, were stopped and searched under the Act. Quinton, who is a journalist, was ordered by police to stop filming the protest. The pressure group
Liberty took the case to
High Court where the Judge ruled in favour of the police. Appeals to the Court of Appeal, and, in March 2006, to the House of Lords, failed. The case was then taken to the European Court of Human Rights, on the grounds of an alleged violation of Articles 5, 8, 10 and 11 of the European Convention on Human Rights. The court ruled that the stop-and-search powers of the police constituted a violation of the right to privacy. •
Walter Wolfgang, an 82-year-old from London, was removed from the 2005
Labour Party conference for heckling
Jack Straw. Wolfgang had shouted that Straw's policy on Iraq was "nonsense." When Wolfgang tried to re-enter the conference, he was stopped by police under the Terrorism Act, but was not arrested. "The Terrorism Act was introduced by Tony Blair with the promise that it would be used only in the gravest of cases," James Ball complained in
The Guardian in 2012, referencing Wolfgang's incident. • Over 1,000 anti-war protesters were stopped and required to empty their pockets on their way to
RAF Fairford (used by American B-52 bombers during the Iraq conflict). • During the 2005
G8 protests in
Auchterarder, Scotland, a
cricketer on his way to a match was stopped at King's Cross station in London under Section 44 powers and questioned over his possession of a
cricket bat. • In January 2009, Member of Parliament
Andrew Pelling was questioned after photographing
roadworks near a railway station • In April 2009, a man in
Enfield was questioned under Section 44 for photographing a police car that he considered was being driven inappropriately along a public footpath. The police claimed (incorrectly) that the act made it illegal to take photographs of police officers and vehicles. • Trainspotters have frequently been subjected to stop and search. Between 2000 and 2009, police used powers under the Act to stop 62,584 people at railway stations. • In November 2009,
BBC photographer Jeff Overs was searched and questioned by police outside the
Tate Modern art gallery for photographing the sunset over
St Paul's Cathedral, under suspicion of preparing for a terrorist act. Overs lodged a formal complaint with the Metropolitan Police. • In December 2009, renowned architectural photographer Grant Smith was searched by a group of
City of London Police officers under Section 44 because he was taking photographs of
Christ Church Greyfriars; although he was working on public ground, the church's proximity to the
Bank of America City of London branch caused a bank security guard to call the police. • In June 2010,
Metropolitan Police officers attempted to prevent a 15-year-old boy from photographing an
Armed Forces Day parade in
Romford, East London, citing "
antisocial behaviour" and the Terrorism Act. A police misconduct hearing held in December 2011 found that the police had no legal power to prevent the teenager from taking pictures and that the police inspector involved in the incident had used abusive language in calling the boy "silly", "gay" and "stupid". The boy was awarded compensation and given an apology. • In October 2011, a man was challenged by security staff in the
Braehead Shopping Centre in
Glasgow after taking photographs of his own four-year-old daughter eating an ice cream in the centre. He was held by
Strathclyde Police under the Terrorism Act and eventually released without charge.
Schedule 7 •
Paul Golding was arrested after visiting Russia in October 2019. Paul Golding refused to provide PIN codes to his phone and laptop at
Heathrow Airport and so he was arrested at the airport and convicted in February 2020 with a
Conditional Discharge for 9 months and ordered to pay £21 in
Victim surcharge and £750 in costs. • British journalist Kit Klarenberg, who works for
The Grayzone, was detained at
Luton airport on 17 May 2023. He was interrogated for over five hours about his reports on the British government and intelligence services, his work for
The Grayzone and his opinions about the British government and
Russia's invasion of Ukraine. His electronic devices, bank cards and memory cards were taken by police, who fingerprinted him, took DNA swabs, and photographed him. The
National Union of Journalists expressed grave concern over his arrest. ==Amendments==