London police are condemned for using anti-terror laws to detain publisher who protested Macron

UK’s National Union of Journalists and two publishers have condemned the Metropolitan police for using anti-terror laws to arrest a French publisher who arrived in London to attend the London Book Fair. Ernest Moret, who is employed by Editions La Fabrique in Paris, was arrested after arriving at St. Pancras railway station to attend the book fair. The police stopped him under Schedule 7 of the Terrorism Act 2000, which gives them broad powers to search people arriving at border crossings to see if they are involved in terrorism. The interrogation would have been illegal in France. According to Editions La Fabrique, and its collaborating London-based publisher Verso Books, Moret refused to unlock his phone for the police. He was taken to a police station in North London. “At around 1930 hrs on Monday, 17 April, a 28-year-old man was stopped by port officers as he arrived at St Pancras station, using powers under Schedule 7 of the Terrorism Act 2000,” the Met said in a statement. “On Tuesday, 18 April, the man was subsequently arrested on suspicion of willfully obstructing a Schedule 7 examination (contrary to section 18 of the Terrorism Act 2000). Enquiries continue.” Editions La Fabrique said that Moret was detained for participating in demonstrations to protest French President Emanuel Macron raising the retirement age from 62 to 64. Editions La Fabrique and Verso Books described the arrest as an “outrageous and unjustifiable infringement” of free speech and also an “abuse of anti-terrorism laws.” “The police officers…London police are condemned for using anti-terror laws to detain publisher who protested Macron