EDM 164: Journalists and anti-terror legislation

That this House is gravely concerned by the arrest at Heathrow Airport of the freelance foreign affairs reporter and National Union of Journalists member Richard Medhurst under Section 12 of Terrorism Act 2000; notes reports that Medhurst was escorted off the plane by six police officers, handcuffed and transferred to a police cell where he had all his journalistic equipment and electronic devices seized and was initially denied the right to make a telephone call or have legal representation; further notes that Medhurst, who has yet to be charged with any offence, categorically denies the accusations of having supported or encouraged support for any proscribed organisation; believes that powers contained in anti-terror legislation must be deployed proportionately and not wielded against journalists in ways that inevitably stifle press freedom, including in relation to coverage of the humanitarian catastrophe in Gaza; shares the concerns of the NUJ and International Federation of Journalists that these actions by the UK authorities are intended to have a chilling effect on journalists both at home and worldwide; and urges the authorities to provide urgent clarity as to the nature of this ongoing investigation.