David Miranda: Home Office Defends Detention

The Government has robustly defended the decision to detain the boyfriend of an investigative journalist under terrorism laws.

David Miranda, whose partner Glenn Greenwald reported the Edward Snowden spying revelations, was stopped at Heathrow Airport on Sunday.

He was held under UK terror laws for the maximum nine hours after trying to change planes en route from Germany to Brazil.

In Germany, he had visited US filmmaker Laura Poitras who has been working on the Snowden NSA files with Mr Greenwald and The Guardian.

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Scotland Yard insists the detention was "legally and procedurally sound" and the Home Office has now given police its full support.

A department spokesman said: "The Government and the police have a duty to protect the public and our national security.

"If the police believe that an individual is in possession of highly sensitive stolen information that would help terrorism, then they should act and the law provides them with a framework to do that.

"Those who oppose this sort of action need to think about what they are condoning. This is an ongoing police inquiry so we will not comment on the specifics."

The detention has prompted a storm of protest from civil rights campaigners and reporter Mr Greenwald called it a "profound attack on press freedoms and the newsgathering process".

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He argued it was "clearly intended to send a message of intimidation to those of us who have been reporting on the NSA (National Security Agency) and GCHQ."

But the Metropolitan Police said: "The examination of a 28-year-old man under Schedule 7 of the Terrorism Act 2000 at Heathrow airport on Sunday … was subject to a detailed decision-making process.

"The procedure was reviewed throughout to ensure the examination was both necessary and proportionate. Our assessment is that the use of the power in this case was legally and procedurally sound."

It added: "Contrary to some reports the man was offered legal representation while under examination and a solicitor attended. No complaint has been received by the Metropolitan Police Service at this time."

White House officials have revealed the US was given advance notice by police about their plan but says America did not request the move and was not involved.

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However, Mr Miranda claims UK officials were doing the bidding of the US by trying to force him to reveal passwords for his electronic devices.

He said: "They were threatening me all the time and saying I would be put in jail if I didn't co-operate.

"They treated me like I was a criminal or someone about to attack the UK … It was exhausting and frustrating, but I knew I wasn't doing anything wrong."

The row has deepened after Guardian editor Alan Rusbridger claimed agents from GCHQ were sent to the newspaper's head office to destroy hard drives containing Snowden data.

Mr Rusbridger, in a comment piece for his own paper, said he was told by phone a few weeks ago: "You've had your fun. Now we want the stuff back."

Shadow home secretary Yvette Cooper, in a new statement on Tuesday, called on Home Secretary Theresa May to reveal whether she or David Cameron had known about the detention in advance.

"Is it really possible that the American President was told what was happening but the British Prime Minister wasn't?," she asked.

"The Government needs to explain who authorised the use of terrorism legislation in this case and what the justification was."

She added: "The police and security services work hard to safeguard our national security, and they need powers to prevent terrorism.

"However for public confidence to be maintained it is important that the Government, police and security services are seen to abide by the rule of law, and to operate proportionately with proper checks and balances in place."

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