George Galloway is taking legal action against the police and other agencies, claiming that an airport stop breached their human rights.
The former MP and his partner Putri Gayatri Pertiwi have launched legal action after they were stopped at Gatwick Airport on Saturday after flying into the UK from Moscow via Dubai.
At a press conference in Belfast on Monday, Irish solicitor Kevin Winters said they were subjected to “a frightening interrogation procedure conducted by armed police officers who proceeded to ask them questions which at times ranged from the sublime to the outright ridiculous including queries about China, Gaza and Russia.”
He went on: “On any analysis of such questioning, there was nothing put to them which could be remotely described as evidence of ‘hostile activity’.
“We can state with confidence that none of the questions posed had anything to do with terrorism.”
Leader of the Workers Party of Britain George Galloway said he was detained
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Mr Winters criticised the “draconian” law used to stop the Galloways, under which staying silent can count against you.
The stop was “a contrived, politically-motivated investigation undertaken with the aim of humiliating, undermining and ultimately embarrassing Mr and Mrs Galloway,” he told journalists.
He claimed there was no lawful basis to stop them and called the stop “a barely concealed ruse to get their phones and their IT equipment.”
Mr Winters said: “Today we are issuing pre-action protocol correspondence against the relevant agencies engaged in the operation which was overseen by Counter Terrorism Policing South East.”
George Galloway, with his wife Putri Gayatri Pertiwi, were stopped
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Speaking at a press conference he said: “This was no interview. None of the questions was specific in any way.
“I fully expected to be asked about something I’d done, I was not. I expected to be asked about something I’d said, I was not. Something I’d written, I was not.
“No specific question at all was asked of me beyond generic musings that I now believe were merely a pretext for…the seizing of our devices to go on a fishing expedition.”
GB News has contacted Thames Valley Police and Counter Terrorism Policing for a comment.
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George Galloway is a parliamentary veteran
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A spokesman from the Metropolitan Police 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. Neither of them were arrested and they were allowed on their way.”
Mr Galloway won his Rochdale seat in a by-election after veteran Labour MP Sir Tony Lloyd died on January 17 2024, just days after announcing he had an incurable form of leukaemia.
In his victory speech, Mr Galloway said: “Keir Starmer, this is for Gaza. You have paid and you will pay a high price for the role that you have played in enabling, encouraging and covering for the catastrophe presently going on in occupied Palestine in the Gaza Strip.”
At last year’s general election, Mr Galloway lost his seat, with Labour’s Paul Waugh winning Rochdale back with a majority of 1,440.
George Galloway at an anti-Iraq war protest in 2006
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Mr Galloway has been a veteran politician, first entering the Commons as the Labour MP for Glasgow Hillhead at the 1987 General Election.
After being re-elected three times, he was eventually expelled from the party under Tony Blair for comments he made in opposition to the invasion of Iraq.
He joined the Respect Party in 2004, and was its leader from 2013 to 2016.
Mr Galloway managed to re-enter the Commons at the 2005 General Election after winning Bethnal Green and Bow seat.
He later won the 2012 Bradford West by-election, only to lose it at the 2015 general election.
George Galloway was elected in Bradford West
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Speaking after his most recent by-election victory, Mr Galloway said: “I’ve heard some of the narrative being spun around this election result this evening.
“Yes, it’s true that every Muslim is bitterly angry at Keir Starmer and his misnamed Labour Party.
“But you would be very foolish if you did not realise that millions of other citizens of our country are too.
“Keir Starmer and Rishi Sunak are two cheeks of the same backside, and they both got well and truly spanked tonight here in Rochdale.”