70% of UK port stops under terror law logged as BAME
About 70% of the thousands of people stopped at UK ports under anti-terrorism laws since 2021 have been from black, Asian and minority ethnic (BAME) backgrounds, according to figures, fuelling concerns that counter-terrorist policing is institutionally racist.
Figures from police logs released to the Guardian under freedom of information laws also show that fewer than one in five people stopped under the same laws during this period were recorded as being white.
Campaigners say the figures are evidence that counter-terrorism laws are disproportionately affecting black and minority ethnic groups. They also say the data calls into question assertions by police leaders that counter-terrorism officers are tackling the growing threat of violence from white far-right extremists.
Of the 8,095 people stopped at UK ports in the past three years under schedule 7 to the 2000 Terrorism Act (allowing examination without suspicion), 5,619 (69.4%) were recorded as BAME. In the same period, 1,585 (19.6%) were recorded as white British, white Irish or white other. Ethnicity was not recorded in 891 (11%) cases and it is not a requirement.
The police monitoring group Netpol said the ethnicity breakdown suggested counter-terrorist officers were underestimating the threat of far-right extremism. Kevin Blowe, its campaigns coordinator, said the
figures also challenged a government review by Sir William Shawcross that said the counter-terrorist programme Prevent was too focused on far-right extremism.
Blowe pointed out that 41% of counter-terrorism arrests in 2021 were of extreme rightwing suspects. The new figures reveal that in 2021-22 only 17.2% of those stopped at ports under schedule 7 were recorded as white. However, security services data shows that between 2018 and 2023 far-right extremism made up about one-quarter of MI5’s caseload.
Blowe said: “The figures from the logs certainly appear not to reflect counter-terrorism’s insistence on a rapidly growing threat of violence from the far right, which has seemingly led to no significant change in the ethnicity of people stopped at ports of entry.
“If there had been a greater level of attention on the far right, you would expect to see a shift in the number of white people who are stopped.
“Schedule 7 powers are broad and intrusive, and decisions about how they are used, without the need for reasonable suspicion, are overwhelmingly made by white counter-terrorism officers. A lack of scrutiny and accountability means the obligation lies with the police to demonstrate the use of these powers does not lead to unlawful discrimination. Our view is their repeated failure to do so is the result of state surveillance mechanisms that are institutionally racist. It is time these powers were abolished.”
Anas Mustapha, of the campaign group Cage International, said: “Schedule 7 is one of the most intrusive and discriminatory of all police powers. We’ve supported hundreds of British holidaymakers impacted by the policy and it’s clear that the power is abused and must be repealed.”
A Counter Terrorism Policing spokesperson said: “Schedule 7 is a vital tool for policing and has been instrumental in securing evidence to support the conviction of terrorists, gathering intelligence to detect terrorist threats and deterring hostile activity in the UK.
“The use of schedule 7 powers regularly features in some of our most complex and high-risk investigations and prosecutions.
“We face an enduring terrorist threat from overseas and whilst we are seeing a much greater prevalence of online activity, travel remains an element of terrorist methodology that provides us with potentially crucial opportunities to act.
“Where the powers are used, there are a range of robust safeguards and measures in place to ensure appropriate usage.”