The former MP George Galloway and his wife have been arrested by counter-terrorism police at Gatwick airport.
He was detained by officers after flying in to London from Moscow, via Abu Dhabi, according to reports.
Workers Party of Britain, of which Mr Galloway is the leader of, said the move was ‘politically motivated intimidation’, claiming police have refused to reveal any information regarding the arrests.
In a statement shared on X, they 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.
The former MP George Galloway and his wife have been arrested by counter-terrorism police at Gatwick airport
Mr Galloway and his wife Putri Gayatri Pertiwi had been stopped under schedule 3 of the Counter Terrorism and Border Security Act 2019. The couple pictured at the airport with their daughter
Workers Party of Britain, of which Mr Galloway is the leader of, said the arrest is ‘politically motivated intimidation’, claiming police have refused to reveal any information regarding the arrests
‘There is no information on charges or alleged offences. Therefore we may conclude this is politically motivated intimidation. We call on all supporters and friends to amplify this message and demand the IMMEDIATE RELEASE of our leaders.’
Mr Galloway and his wife Putri Gayatri Pertiwi had been stopped under schedule 3 of the Counter Terrorism and Border Security Act 2019, which allows officers to stop, question, search and detain a person at a border area to determine if they have engaged in hostile activity.
A Met spokesman said: ‘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 couple were eventually freed without charge.
The Workers party went on to condemn ‘the attempt to intimidate political opponents of the drive towards war with Russia and China’.
They insisted ‘there was never any chance of an offence’ and the Party were obstructed from providing legal support.
The Daily Mail have contacted the Metropolitan Police for comment.
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