British far-right leader charged with terrorism
The leader of a prominent British far-right group
has been charged with a terror offence after refusing to give police access to
his phone.
Paul Golding, leader of Britain First, was stopped
by officers from the Metropolitan Police’s Counter Terrorism at London’s
Heathrow Airport in October on his way back from Moscow, where he went to the
Russian Parliament.
He refused to provide pin codes for several of his
electronic devices.
Mr Golding, 38, of Bexley in south-east London, is
charged with refusing to comply a duty under Schedule 7 of the British
Terrorism Act. Schedule 7 allows police to interrogate, search and detain
anyone for up to six hours at UK ports, to determine whether they are involved
in the "commission, preparation or instigation" of acts of terrorism.
In a statement, Mr Golding denied being a terrorist
and said the charges were “an abuse of legislation”.
After working as a British National Party
councillor, Mr Golding joined Britain First as its leader in 2011. The fascist
organisation is against multi-culturalism and what is sees as “an Islamisation”
of the United Kingdom.
In September last year, the far-right group was criticised
after Mr Golding joined Britain First activists on a "patriot migrant
patrol" at a beach near Dover to catch migrants crossing the English
channel. This was only two months after Mr Golding was caught on tape admitting
he had violently attacked his former deputy.
He will appear in Westminster Magistrates’ Court in
central London next Thursday.
