Terrorism Act used to stop climate change activist travelling

The Terrorism Act was used to stop a British climate change activist, Chris 
Kitchen, from travelling to Denmark.
 
Published: 7:00AM BST 15 Oct 2009

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/uknews/6329005/Terrorism-Act-used-to-stop-
climate-change-activist-travelling.html
http://bit.ly/3SYv5q

Mr Kitchen, 31, said he was prevented from crossing the border at about 5pm 
on Tuesday when the coach he was travelling on stopped at the Folkestone 
terminal of the Channel tunnel.

He told the Guardian that police officers boarded the coach and, after 
checking all passengers' passports, took him and another climate activist to 
be interviewed under schedule 7 of the Terrorism Act 2000, a clause which 
enables border officials to stop and search individuals to determine if they 
are connected to terrorism.
 
He was asked what he intended to do in Copenhagen and also about his family, 
work and past political activity.

Mr Kitchen said he pointed out that anti-terrorist legislation does not 
apply to environmental activists but said the officer replied that terrorism 
''could mean a lot of things''.

His coach had left by the time his 30-minute interview had finished and 
police paid for a ticket for him to return to London.

Mr Kitchen said he believed the officials knew his name and had planned to 
remove him before they boarded the coach as passports were not initially 
scanned.

''The use of anti-terrorist legislation like this is another example of 
political policing, of the government harassing and intimidating people 
practising their hard earned democratic rights,'' he told the Guardian.

''We are going to Copenhagen to take part in Climate Justice Action because 
we want to protest against false solutions like carbon trading and to build 
a global movement for effective, socially just solutions.

''People who are practising civil disobedience on climate change in the face 
of ineffectual government action are certainly not terrorists, and I am sure 
that their actions will be vindicated by history.''

Mr Kitchen said he will make a second attempt on Wednesday night to get to 
Denmark.

Once there, he plans to take part in discussions organised by a network of 
protest groups coming together under the banner Climate Justice Action in 
the run-up to the United Nations summit.

Mike Childs, Friends of the Earth's head of climate, said: ''It's outrageous 
to stop someone from travelling to Copenhagen to protest on climate change.
''Climate change is a global crisis that will have catastrophic consequences 
unless world leaders take drastic action to tackle it, so it's not 
surprising people want their voices to be heard. The police should be 
supporting people's right to protest peacefully.

''One of the most effective ways to campaign is to unite as many voices as 
possible at the same time and this is exactly what Friends of the Earth will 
be doing in Copenhagen in the coming weeks.''

A Home Office spokesman said: ''There has been no change in policy. Schedule 
7 of the Terrorism Act 2000 enables an examining officer to stop, search and 
examine a person at a port or in a border area to determine whether they are 
someone who is or has been concerned in the commission, preparation or 
instigation of acts of terrorism.

''The exercise of the powers by the police is an operational matter for each 
force.''
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