Police apology for Galloway over airport questioning
Police have issued an apology to outspoken MP George Galloway after he was questioned at Heathrow Airport earlier this month.
The independent MP for Glasgow Kelvin was allegedly stopped and unfairly questioned by an officer on his way to an anti-war rally in Belfast.
Police reportedly detained Mr Galloway under the Terrorism Act 2000, demanding to know where he was travelling to and what he was going to say at the meeting.
“They claimed they had the right to demand the text of what I was going to say in Belfast under the act,” the MP said.
Mr Galloway refused to tell the Special Branch officer and his senior what was in his speech and was eventually allowed to board the plane after about 30 minutes of questioning.
The anti-war politician revealed that superintendent Phillip King, head of the Special Branch (Ports) section, wrote to him yesterday.
Mr King said: “Whilst the examination was carried out in good faith, it was in my view not within the spirit of the act.”
“It is right, where complaints are received, or shortcomings identified, that we must acknowledge these occasions where we have got it wrong. The officer was over-zealous on this occasion and for that I offer my sincerest apology,” he added.
Mr Galloway welcomed the apology, but added: “The point remains that the draconian and catch-all nature of the act allows Special Branch officers virtually unlimited powers of questioning and detention.”
A Scotland Yard spokesman confirmed that a letter had been written to Mr Galloway but refused to comment on the details of the incident.
