The Metropolitan police have admitted downloading the sim card from the phone of a radical French publisher who was arrested by counter-terrorism police at St Pancras station in April, his lawyer has claimed.
Officers returned the iPhone and laptop it had seized from Ernest Moret, 28, to his London lawyer on Tuesday after the Met announced late on Friday that no further action would be taken against him. He had been arrested on his way to the London book fair and held for almost 24 hours under schedule 7 of the Terrorism Act 2000.
The treatment of Moret – who was interrogated about his support for the French president, Emmanuel Macron, and participation in anti-government protests – is the subject of review by Jonathan Hall KC, the independent reviewer of terrorism legislation.
Moret’s lawyer, Richard Parry, confirmed that officers returned his laptop and phone on Tuesday, more than 10 weeks after they were confiscated when Moret refused to provide passwords for the devices.
Police told Parry the information on the devices had not been downloaded, but that the sim card on the phone had been downloaded, although the information on it had not been reviewed by counter-terrorism police.
Parry said Moret, who is the foreign rights manager for the radical publisher Éditions la Fabrique, was seeking assurances his data would not be stored or shared with other intelligence agencies.
He said: “Our principal concern is whether or not any data will be transmitted to third parties, and whether it goes on an intelligence database or is used in any form. Police have not said that nothing has been passed on.”
He added: “In our view, any attempt to transfer or utilise any of the data downloaded in any jurisdiction would be unlawful.”
Moret was also seeking an explanation from the French authorities on their role in his arrest.
Parry said: “We believe that his targeting by the British police was as a result of an unwarranted request by the French authorities, particularly in view of the fact that the interrogation of our client focused almost exclusively on French politics.
“In our view, this line of questioning was unjustified and an abuse of the schedule 7 powers.”
Moret’s arrest was condemned as a “chilling” attack on free speech, journalism and the right to protest. Parry said: “Our client took a principled stand, citing articles 8 and 10 of the European convention on human rights, in defence of his fundamental right to privacy and freedom of expression.”
He pointed out that despite widespread concern expressed about Moret’s treatment, the French authorities continued to remain silent about their role.
He added: “The most important next step is the report by the independent reviewer of terrorism legislation.”
The Met police have been approached for comment.
Commander Dominic Murphy, who leads the Met’s counter-terrorism command, confirmed last week that Hall was reviewing the case.
“We are aware that this police interaction generated a lot of commentary about our use of schedule 7 powers, and whether it was necessary and proportionate in this case,” he said. “The public would rightly expect that the use of counter-terrorism powers is always carefully considered, and we have reflected on this particular interaction so we can identify any learning.”
