Editing Terrorism Act 2000 (section)

====Section 44====

{{multiple image
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| header    = Photographic subjects questioned under anti-terror laws
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| image1    = Wimbledon station main building.JPG
| alt1      = Wimbledon station main entrance
| caption1  = Wimbledon railway station

| image2    =St_pauls_and_millennium_bridge.jpg
| alt2      = dome of St Paul's Cathedral
| caption2  = St Paul's Cathedral

| image3    = Christ Church Greyfriars 2.jpg
| alt3      = Christ Church Greyfriars with bank building in shot
| caption3  = Christ Church Greyfriars

| image4    = Heading west - geograph.org.uk - 1659252.jpg
| alt4     = Railway locomotive photographed en route to Milford Haven
| caption4  = Railway locomotive, Milford Haven
}}

* In September 2003, two people, Kevin Gillan and Pennie Quinton, intending to protest against the Defence Systems Equipment International (DSEI) show in London's [[London Docklands|Docklands]], were stopped and searched under the Act. Quinton, who is a journalist, was ordered by police to stop filming the protest. The pressure group [[Liberty (pressure group)|Liberty]] took the case to [[High Court of Justice|High Court]] where the Judge ruled in favour of the police.<ref name="bbc-powers"/><ref name="guardian-armsfair">{{cite news |url=https://www.theguardian.com/uk/2003/oct/31/armstrade.terrorism |title=Arms fair protesters lose legal challenge |date=31 October 2003 |work=The Guardian|access-date=2 December 2009 |location=London }}</ref> Appeals to the Court of Appeal, and, in March 2006, to the House of Lords, failed. The case was then taken to the European Court of Human Rights, on the grounds of an alleged violation of Articles 5, 8, 10 and 11 of the European Convention on Human Rights. The court ruled that the stop-and-search powers of the police constituted a violation of the right to privacy.<ref name=guardian-15dec2010>{{cite news |title=Stop and search powers illegal, European court rules |url=https://www.theguardian.com/world/2010/jan/12/stop-and-search-ruled-illegal |access-date=15 December 2011 |date=12 January 2010 |work=The Guardian |first=Alan |last=Travis }}</ref>
* [[Walter Wolfgang]], an 82-year-old from London, was removed from the 2005 [[Labour Party (UK)|Labour Party]] conference for heckling [[Jack Straw]]. Wolfgang had shouted that Straw's policy on Iraq was "nonsense." When Wolfgang tried to re-enter the conference, he was stopped by police under the Terrorism Act, but was not arrested.<ref>{{Cite news |url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/4291388.stm|title=Labour issues apology to heckler |date=28 September 2005 |work=BBC News |access-date=9 April 2020 |language=en-GB }}</ref> "The Terrorism Act was introduced by Tony Blair with the promise that it would be used only in the gravest of cases," James Ball complained in ''The Guardian'' in 2012, referencing Wolfgang's incident.<ref>{{Cite news |last=Ball |first=James |url=https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2012/apr/02/surveillance-state-coalition-email-social-media |title=The surveillance state: growing under a coalition that pledged to reverse it {{!}} James Ball|date=2012-04-02 |work=The Guardian |access-date=2020-04-09 |language=en-GB |issn=0261-3077 }}</ref>
* Over 1,000 anti-war protesters, were stopped and required to empty their pockets, on their way to [[RAF Fairford]] (used by American B-52 bombers during the Iraq conflict).<ref name='TeleAbuse'>{{cite news |title=The police must end their abuse of anti-terror legislation |url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/opinion/main.jhtml?xml=/opinion/2005/10/03/do0304.xml |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20051231215407/http://www.telegraph.co.uk/opinion/main.jhtml?xml=/opinion/2005/10/03/do0304.xml |url-status=dead |archive-date=31 December 2005 |work=[[The Daily Telegraph]] |access-date=1 January 2008 |location=London |first=Philip |last=Johnston |date=3 October 2005 }}</ref>
* During the 2005 [[31st G8 summit#Citizens' responses and authorities' counter-responses|G8 protests]] in [[Auchterarder]], Scotland, a [[cricket]]er on his way to a match was stopped at King's Cross station in London under Section 44 powers and questioned over his possession of a [[cricket bat]].<ref name='TeleAbuse'/>
* In October 2008, police stopped a 15-year-old schoolboy in south London who was taking photographs of [[Wimbledon railway station]] for his school geography project. He was questioned under suspicion of being a terrorist. His parents raised concerns that his personal data could be held on a [[Crimint|police database]] for up to six years.<ref name="schoolboy">{{cite web |url=http://www.amateurphotographer.co.uk/news/terrorism_act_photography_fears_spark_police_response_news_271070.html |title=Terrorism Act: Photography fears spark police response |date=30 October 2008 |work=Amateur Photographer |access-date=30 November 2009 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20081206183303/http://www.amateurphotographer.co.uk/news/terrorism_act_photography_fears_spark_police_response_news_271070.html |archive-date=6 December 2008}}</ref>
* In January 2009, Member of Parliament [[Andrew Pelling]] was questioned after photographing [[roadworks]] near a railway station<ref name="pelling">{{cite news |url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/newstopics/politics/conservative/4144210/Tory-MP-stopped-and-searched-by-police-for-taking-photos-of-cycle-path.html|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090223201420/http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/newstopics/politics/conservative/4144210/Tory-MP-stopped-and-searched-by-police-for-taking-photos-of-cycle-path.html|url-status=dead |archive-date=23 February 2009 |title=Tory MP stopped and searched by police for taking photos of cycle path |date=6 January 2009 |work=The Daily Telegraph |access-date=30 November 2009 |location=London }}</ref>
* In April 2009, a man in [[Enfield Town|Enfield]] was questioned under Section 44 for photographing a police car that he considered was being driven inappropriately along a public footpath. The police claimed (incorrectly) that the act made it illegal to take photographs of police officers and vehicles.<ref name="enfield">{{cite news |url=http://www.enfieldindependent.co.uk/news/4289832.Man_questioned_under_terrorism_law_after_taking_picture_of_police_car_in_park/|title=Man questioned under terrorism law after taking picture of police car in park |last=Cosgrove |first=Sarah |date=14 April 2009 |work=Enfield Independent |access-date=2 December 2009 }}</ref>
* Trainspotters have frequently been subjected to stop and search. Between 2000 and 2009, police used powers under the Act to stop 62,584 people at railway stations.<ref>{{Cite web |url=https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/libertycentral/2009/jan/22/british-transport-police-crime|title = Police seek new rights for searching train passengers |website=[[TheGuardian.com]] |date = 22 January 2009 }}</ref>
* In November 2009, [[BBC]] photographer Jeff Overs was searched and questioned by police outside the [[Tate Modern]] art gallery for photographing the sunset over [[St Paul's Cathedral]], under suspicion of preparing for a terrorist act. Overs lodged a formal complaint with the Metropolitan Police.<ref name="overs1">{{cite news |url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk_politics/8384972.stm |title=BBC photographer on being stopped by police |date=29 November 2009 |work=The Andrew Marr Show |access-date=30 November 2009 }}</ref><ref name="overs2">{{cite news |url=http://www.thisislondon.co.uk/standard/article-23776068-bbc-man-in-terror-quiz-for-photographing-st-pauls-sunset.do |title=BBC man in terror quiz for photographing St Paul's sunset |last=Davenport |first=Justin |date=27 November 2009 |work=London Evening Standard |access-date=30 November 2009 |location=London |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20091130161651/http://www.thisislondon.co.uk/standard/article-23776068-bbc-man-in-terror-quiz-for-photographing-st-pauls-sunset.do |archive-date=30 November 2009 }}</ref>
* In December 2009, renowned architectural photographer Grant Smith was searched by a group of [[City of London Police]] officers under Section 44 because he was taking photographs of [[Christ Church Greyfriars]]; although he was working on public ground, the church's proximity to the [[Bank of America]] City of London branch caused a bank security guard to call the police.<ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.theguardian.com/uk/2009/dec/08/police-search-photographer-terrorism-powers |title=Police stop church photographer under terrorism powers |last=Booth |first=Robert|date=8 December 2009 |work=The Guardian|access-date=9 December 2009 | location=London}}</ref>
* In June 2010, [[Metropolitan Police]] officers attempted to prevent a 15-year-old boy from photographing an [[Armed Forces Day (United Kingdom)|Armed Forces Day]] parade in [[Romford]], East London, citing "[[Anti-social Behaviour Act 2003|antisocial behaviour]]" and the Terrorism Act. A police misconduct hearing held in December 2011 found that the police had no legal power to prevent the teenager from taking pictures and that the police inspector involved in the incident had used abusive language in calling the boy "silly", "gay" and "stupid". The boy was awarded compensation and given an apology.<ref name=mattson-photographer>{{cite web |title=Photographer wins police payout over lawful pics |url=http://www.amateurphotographer.co.uk/news/Photographer_wins_police_payout_over_lawful_pics_news_310784.html |work=Amateur Photographer |access-date=13 December 2011 |date=12 December 2011|url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120108032807/http://www.amateurphotographer.co.uk/news/Photographer_wins_police_payout_over_lawful_pics_news_310784.html |archive-date=8 January 2012 }}</ref><ref name=mattson-telegraph>{{cite news |title=Police apologise for gay jibe against photographer |url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/8951188/Police-apologise-for-gay-jibe-against-photographer.html |access-date=13 December 2011 |newspaper=The Telegraph |date=12 December 2011 |location=London |first=Richard |last=Alleyne }}</ref>
* In October 2011, a man was challenged by security staff in the [[Braehead]] Shopping Centre in [[Glasgow]] after taking photographs of his own four-year-old daughter eating an ice cream in the centre. He was held by [[Strathclyde Police]] under the Terrorism Act and eventually released without charge.<ref name=bbc-braehead>{{cite news |title=Row over photo in shopping centre |url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-scotland-glasgow-west-15236758 |access-date=13 December 2011 |work=BBC News |date=10 October 2011 }}</ref>