French publisher arrested on suspicion of terror offences ‘to face no further action’ | Metropolitan police

No further action will be taken against a French publisher who was arrested after being stopped at St Pancras station on suspicion of terror offences, the Metropolitan police have said.

The 28-year-old man, who was previously named by his employer as Ernest Moret, was stopped by border officers as he arrived at the north London station at about 7.30pm on 17 April.

The man was subsequently arrested on suspicion of wilfully obstructing a Schedule 7 examination (contrary to section 18 of the Terrorism Act 2000). This related to the man not disclosing the pin to his phone when asked to by officers, the force said.

The man was bailed, and later released under investigation.

Moret, who works at Éditions la Fabrique, was on his way to the London Book Fair, which takes place in Olympia over three days from 18-20 April, when officers tried to “determine whether he was engaged in terrorist acts or in possession of material for use in terrorism”, the firm said in April.

Officers said he had taken part in demonstrations in France over Emmanuel Macron, the French president, raising the retirement age from 62 to 64, according to a joint statement from Verso Books.

The statement called the actions “outrageous and unjustifiable infringements of basic principles of the freedom of expression and an example of the abuse of anti-terrorism laws”.

Last month, a file was submitted to the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) in relation to the alleged section 18 offence, but the CPS later advised that the evidential test has not been met.

Therefore, no further action will be taken. Earlier on Friday, the man arrested was informed of this outcome via his solicitors.

The case is being reviewed by Jonathan Hall KC, the UK’s independent reviewer of terrorism legislation, Commander Dominic Murphy, who leads the Met’s Counter Terrorism Command, said.

Murphy added: “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.

“The public would rightly expect that the use of counterterrorism powers is always carefully considered, and we have reflected on this particular interaction so we can identify any learning.

“As part of this, we are fully engaged with the UK’s independent reviewer of terrorism legislation, Jonathan Hall KC, who is currently reviewing this case.

“We have also met with representatives from the National Union of Journalists to listen to concerns they raised about this stop. We will continue to be as open as possible about our work and take every opportunity to reflect on feedback and learning from our interactions.”