Former Member of Parliament George Galloway and his wife were stopped at Gatwick Airport by counter-terrorism police, sources report.
The Workers Party of Britain (WPB) stated that its leader and Putri Gayatri Pertiwi, the party’s deputy chair, were detained on Saturday morning upon their return to the UK from Moscow, via Abu Dhabi.
According to the Metropolitan Police, a man in his 70s and a woman in her 40s were stopped by counter-terrorism officers under the Counter Terrorism and Border Security Act. Authorities confirmed that neither individual was arrested and both were subsequently “allowed on their way.”
In a released statement, Galloway’s party condemned the incident as “politically motivated intimidation,” asserting that freedom of speech is being disregarded.
Law enforcement officials have confirmed the stops were conducted under schedule 3 of the Counter-Terrorism and Border Security Act 2019.
This provision grants officers the authority to stop, question, search, and detain individuals at ports or border areas within the UK to assess potential involvement in hostile activities.
Those detained under this act may be required to provide information, including device passwords. It remains unclear whether such a request was made in this particular instance.
A Met Police spokesperson stated: “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.”
The Workers Party of Britain reported that Galloway and his wife were detained by police at Gatwick on Saturday morning.
In a subsequent statement released on X, the party confirmed that Galloway, 71, and his 40-year-old wife were released without charge.
The statement further asserted, “There was never any chance of an offence.”
“We were obstructed from providing legal support, and the conduct of the affair has been designed to intimidate political opponents of the drive towards war with Russia and China.”
Galloway served as a Labour MP until 2003 and subsequently held seats in the Commons as an independent and Respect Party MP, representing three constituencies between 2003 and 2015.
In March 2024, he became the WPB’s first MP after winning a by-election in Rochdale, before ultimately losing the seat in that year’s general election.