Tommy Robinson has criticized authorities after being held at Heathrow Airport under counter-terror legislation. The activist alleges that officers seized his phones during the nearly three-hour detention.
In a post on X on Saturday, June 13, he wrote: "I'M A TERRORIST AGAIN. I have been detained at Heathrow Airport today for the best part of 3 hours. I was detained under section 3 of the Counter-Terrorism and Border Security Act 2019. My phone has been seized by the police. So here we go again, looks like more defence and court fees ffs!!! Absolute f****** madness."
Earlier in June, Robinson appeared at a protest in Southampton following the murder of Henry Nowak. Henry, 18, a student from Essex, was murdered by 23-year-old British Sikh Vickrum Digwa on December 3, 2025. Despite being stabbed four times, Henry was arrested and handcuffed by police as he lay dying after a false allegation of assault and racism was made by Digwa and his family. The police's actions led to public protests and claims of 'two-tier policing' based on race.
During the rally in Southampton, some 13 police officers and a police dog were injured in confrontations with protesters. Robinson's post on X detailing plans for further protests was shared by Elon Musk to his 240 million followers.
An admin on Robinson's X profile stated: "This is an attack on free speech, this is an attack on investigative journalism, nothing more, nothing less." They added that officers "likely want to see who [Yaxley-Lennon] is talking to, and maybe find out who his sources are".
A terror charge against Robinson was dropped in November last year after he declined to give officers the PIN number to his phone while driving through the Channel Tunnel in July 2024. Robinson, who was travelling to Benidorm, insisted the device harboured confidential journalistic material. A district judge at Westminster Magistrates Court ruled he could not be certain that the police stop complied with the law.
Regarding Robinson's latest detention, a Met Police spokesman stated that officers stopped a man in his 40s at Heathrow Airport, after he returned to the UK from Russia via Turkey. The spokesman added: "The man was interviewed by officers and his communication devices were seized. He was subsequently released."
