Met apologises to pro-Palestinian activist over terror arrest

The Metropolitan Police has apologised to a pro-Palestinian activist and settled a legal claim after admitting he was wrongly arrested under anti-terrorism laws.

Tej Singh Bhandal, 68, was detained at London’s St Pancras International station on 2 June after refusing to give officers the PIN code to his mobile phone while returning to Britain on Eurostar.

The activist, who is involved in the Palestine Solidarity Campaign (PSC), was stopped under Schedule 7 of the Terrorism Act 2000, which allows police to question people at borders without needing reasonable suspicion.

He spent several hours in custody before challenging his arrest.

The Met has now dropped its criminal investigation and agreed to settle the claim after accepting that officers had failed to meet the legal requirements for stopping and arresting him.

According to Bhandal’s lawyers, police also acknowledged that supporting or funding lawful political protest groups, including the Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions (BDS) movement and the PSC, did not automatically establish links to terrorism.

Bhandal described his arrest as “incredibly humiliating” and “an abuse of power”.

“I was handcuffed and led through the station in full view of the public. I felt like the tabloid newspaper stereotype of a person of colour, and I was treated like a criminal,” he said.

Bhandal had previously been arrested in 2025 during an investigation into an incident linked to Palestine Action at an Elbit Systems factory in Bristol.

He was questioned by counter-terrorism officers over four days, while his home was searched and electronic devices seized. He was released without further action.

Bhandal believes the earlier investigation led to an intelligence warning being placed against his name, resulting in his detention at St Pancras.

The settlement comes as the government’s ban on Palestine Action faces a legal challenge at the Supreme Court, where 27 protesters were arrested on Wednesday.

Commander Helen Flanagan, head of Counter-Terrorism Policing London, said: “We accept that an examination of a 68-year-old man under Schedule 7 to the Terrorism Act 2000, on 2 June at St Pancras station, and his subsequent arrest, did not meet the requirements of the legislation. We have apologised to the individual concerned over this.”

She stressed that Schedule 7 remained a vital tool for protecting Britain from terrorism, but said the force would review the case to ensure its powers were used lawfully.

Alex Kenney, a lawyer at Hodge Jones & Allen who represented Bhandal, said stronger safeguards were needed to prevent the arbitrary use of anti-terrorism legislation.

“Our hope is that Tej’s case leads to more stringent adherence to the statutory obligations under the Terrorism Act, and changes how the police conduct themselves in the future,” she said.