The New Inquisition: How Counter-Terror Laws Became a Weapon Against Journalism

“Freedom of the press, if it means anything at all, means the freedom to criticize and oppose.” ― George Orwell

The Arrest of Asa Winstanley: UK’s War on Independent Journalism

When ten Metropolitan Police officers descended on journalist Asa Winstanley’s North London home before dawn, they weren’t hunting for terrorists. They were hunting for words.

This raid, conducted under the guise of counter-terrorism law, represents something far more sinister than a simple police operation. It marks the moment when Britain’s slide from democracy to soft authoritarianism became impossible to ignore.

Let us be crystal clear about what happened: Armed officers invaded a journalist’s home at 6 AM to seize his electronic devices, not because he poses any threat to public safety, but because he dared to report critically on British foreign policy and Israel’s actions in Gaza. The supposed crime? “Encouraging terrorism” – a charge so nebulous it could encompass virtually any criticism of state power.

I’ve spent decades observing the steady erosion of British civil liberties, but even I am shocked by the brazenness of this assault on press freedom. The raid on Winstanley isn’t an isolated incident – it’s part of a calculated campaign of intimidation. Richard Medhurst detained at Heathrow. Sarah Wilkinson’s home ransacked. Each case following the same playbook: dawn raids, device seizures, and the hanging threat of terrorism charges.

Some will argue that these measures are necessary for national security. But let’s examine that claim: How does arresting journalists who report on Palestine protect Britain? How does silencing critics of foreign policy make us safer? The answer, of course, is that it doesn’t. These laws exist not to protect the public, but to protect the powerful from public scrutiny.

The timing is hardly coincidental. Under Prime Minister Starmer’s leadership, Labour has transformed from a party that once championed civil liberties into one that weaponises state power against political dissent. Winstanley has continued to be a thorn in the side of the British establishment, exposing its covert ties to Israel and collusion with the Israeli lobby. His book, “Weaponising Anti-Semitism: How the Israel Lobby Brought Down Jeremy Corbyn,” laid bare the smear campaign against the former Labour leader, implicating current Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer in the process.

Now, with Labour in power, there are justified fears that the apparatus of the state is being turned against those perceived as political enemies. The message is clear: critique Israel’s actions or the UK’s support for them at your peril.

The raid on investigative journalist Asa Winstanley isn’t about terrorism – except the UK government’s. It is about scaring us into staying silent on Britain’s collusion in Israel’s genocide

Jonathan Cook

The absurdity of the situation is stark. Winstanley’s work is entirely in the public domain. If there were genuine suspicions of terrorist links, surely an arrest would have been made rather than this public spectacle of a pre-dawn raid. This is not about uncovering hidden evidence; it’s about creating a chilling effect on journalism that challenges the official narrative.

Even the operation’s name, “Incessantness,” seems designed to instil fear, suggesting an unrelenting pursuit of those who dare to dissent. It’s a tactic straight out of an authoritarian playbook, not befitting a nation that prides itself on being a beacon of democracy and free speech.

The implications of these actions extend far beyond the individuals targeted. They strike at the heart of investigative journalism and the public’s right to information. If journalists can be intimidated into silence under the threat of counterterrorism laws, who will hold power to account?

As Michelle Stanistreet and Anthony Bellanger of the National Union of Journalists and the International Federation of Journalists respectively stated, “Journalism is not a crime.” The deployment of anti-terror legislation against journalists is a disproportionate and dangerous overreach that threatens to stifle press freedom not just in the UK, but globally.

In August, Britain’s Crown Prosecution Service issued a warning to the British public to “think before you post” and threatening that it would prosecute anyone it deemed guilty of what it calls “online violence.”

“Journalism is not a crime”

An Extract from The Electronic Intifada states: “The police raid on Winstanley’s home and the seizure of his devices appears to be the latest use by British authorities of repressive “counterterrorism” legislation to crack down on journalists and activists involved in reporting on or protesting Israel’s crimes, including its ongoing genocide in the Gaza Strip.

In December, Winstanley reported for The Electronic Intifada on how British counterterrorism police arrested Mick Napier and Tony Greenstein, two prominent activists, for saying they support the Palestinian right to resist Israel – a right enshrined in international law.

As part of his bail conditions, Greenstein, an author and contributor to The Electronic Intifada, was ordered “not to post on X (formerly Twitter) in regards to the ongoing conflict in Gaza.”

In mid-August, British journalist Richard Medhurst was arrested on arrival at London’s Heathrow Airport, detained under the Terrorism Act (2000), and had his phone and recording devices that he used for his journalism seized.

“Richard Medhurst’s arrest and detention for almost 24 hours using terrorism legislation is deeply concerning and will likely have a chilling effect on journalists in the UK and worldwide, in fear of arrest by UK authorities simply for carrying out their work,” Michelle Stanistreet, general secretary of the UK’s National Union of Journalists and Anthony Bellanger, general secretary of the International Federation of Journalists, said at the time in a joint statement.

“Both the NUJ and IFJ are shocked at the increased use of terrorism legislation by the British police in this manner,” Stanistreet and Bellanger added. “Journalism is not a crime. Powers contained in anti-terror legislation must be deployed proportionately – not wielded against journalists in ways that inevitably stifle press freedom.”

Nonetheless, later in August, British counterrorism police raided the home of Sarah Wilkinson, a Palestine solidarity activist with a large following, also reportedly in relation to content she posted online.

The international community must not remain silent in the face of these egregious attacks on press freedom. Human Rights Watch has already called for the repeal of the repressive provisions of the Terrorism Act. It’s time for other organizations, governments, and individuals committed to democratic values to add their voices to this demand.

To those who say this is hyperbole, I ask: What would you call it when armed police raid journalists’ homes at dawn? When devices are seized without arrest or charge? When the state uses counter-terrorism laws to silence political criticism? If this isn’t authoritarianism in the making, what is?

The raid on Winstanley’s home should serve as our wake-up call. Britain’s proud tradition of press freedom didn’t end with a bang but with the quiet click of police boots on a journalist’s doorstep before dawn. Unless we act now to repeal these draconian laws and restore genuine press freedom, we may soon find ourselves living in a country where the only permitted truth is the official one.

The question isn’t whether you agree with these journalists’ views. The question is whether we want to live in a country where holding the wrong views can bring armed police to your door at dawn. Today it’s Palestine solidarity activists. Tomorrow it could be anyone who challenges state power.

We must demand an immediate end to these police raids on journalists, the repeal of the speech-criminalizing provisions of the Terrorism Act, and a return to genuine press freedom. Otherwise, we risk becoming what we once claimed to fight against: a state where fear silences truth, and power operates without accountability.

Just a minute, there’s a knock on the door…