Police seizure of Asa’s kit was unlawful

Asa Winstanley

ASA WINSTANLEY told the June meeting about his recent court victory. He writes for Electronic Intifada, a website that focuses on Palestine. In 2023 Asa published a book called Weaponising Antisemitism: how the Israel lobby brought down Jeremy Corbyn: “it’s about the fabricated antisemitism campaign against the leader of the Labour Party.”

“On 17 October 2024,” he told us, “when it was still dark, the police raided me. ... Foolishly, I let them in without seeing the warrant… they took my laptop, all my phones, and any digital device that was connected to my journalism.

“The good news, though, is that last month, the top judge at the Old Bailey ruled that the raid was illegal. I have a very good legal team led by Tayab Ali at Bindmans. “So, the police were compelled to hand back my devices... Tayab got on to the police the day after the seizure and said, ‘look, don’t search anything. We’re going to be challenging all this.’

“And according to the police, they haven’t searched anything.” What was important, Asa said, “was the support of the NUJ. Freelance Organiser David Ayrton was one of the first people who got in touch after the raid. The support of the membership was important.”

Before seizing material from a journalist, police need to get an order from a circuit judge under Schedule 1 to the Police and Criminal Evidence Act 1984. At the Old Bailey Judge Mark Lucroft said: “I am very troubled by the way in which the search warrant was drafted, approved and granted where items were to be seized from a journalist. Whilst I entirely accept a journalist may be undertaking other activity alongside that role, on the known facts here, great caution should have been exercised.”

During the raid one officer explained their thinking. “He said that most people have either a computer or a laptop, or both; a phone; an iPad; and a previous phone. “Those are the things that they’re looking for.”

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