Britain First leader guilty of Terrorism Act offence
THE leader of far-right political group Britain First has been found guilty of an offence under the Terrorism Act after refusing to give police access to his phone on his return from a political trip to Russia.
Paul Golding, 38, was stopped at Heathrow Airport on October 23 last year on his way back from Moscow by officers from the Metropolitan Police.
He refused to give the pin codes for an iPhone and Apple computer and was later charged with wilfully refusing to comply with a duty under Schedule 7 of the Terrorism Act.
Golding denied the charge but was found guilty following a trial at Westminster Magistrates’ Court in London yesterday. He was given a conditional discharge for nine months, ordered to pay a £21 surcharge and £750 in costs.
Giving evidence earlier, PC Rory O’Connor, a borders officer with the Met who questioned Golding, told the court that Schedule 7 enables accredited officers to “speak to people in order to make a determination of whether they are or have been concerned in the commission, preparation or instigation of acts of terrorism”.
The officer explained that it also permitted police to interrogate, search and detain anyone for up to six hours at UK ports.
He said he had cause to examine Golding under the legislation and recalled him being initially “agitated” and “clearly angry” at being stopped, with him shouting at officers.
Prosecutor Samuel Main said that for nearly three hours Golding was questioned about his activities in Russia after flying out with two others on October 20.
The court heard that Golding said he was on a “purely political trip” after establishing friendships in Russia during an international congress on an earlier date.
He told officers that he had returned to the country at the invitation of the Liberal Democratic Party of Russia (LDPR).
Golding said they were a “political party, not a mob” and “if they incited violence then Britain First wouldn’t touch them with a barge pole”.
He said he had not met any representative of the Russian government, the court heard.
Over the course of his trip, Golding, of Stockport, gave interviews to the media, met members of the LDPR and visited the Russian parliament, Mr Main said.
Representing Golding, Abigail Bright said Britain First had never been a banned organisation.
She said Golding had been “calm, compliant and respectful” during questioning under what she claimed was a “predetermined operation”.
Ms Bright said he was “tired” and had not wilfully disobeyed a lawful instruction and that evidence from officers left the court “none too wiser” as to whether they had “screened against” Schedule 7 being used “in an arbitrary way”.
As a politician, she said he was “entitled to expect enhanced protection for his rights of speech, assembly, association”.
Britain First was deregistered as a political party in 2017.