Green Party London Assembly Member, Jenny Jones, has today condemned the actions of border officials who detained Brazilian national David Miranda, partner of journalist Glenn Greenwald, under the Terrorism Act.
Ms Jones has professed her belief that the anti-terrorism law had been used illegally and without justification.
"This looks like our Government doing the American Government’s dirty work, which is not what they were elected for. I have concerns that the police have acted illegally. The Terrorism Act 2004 has constraints on the way this sort of detention is used and we need an explanation of why Miranda was a threat to the UK."
What is schedule 7 and how does it work?
Under the schedule, UK police can stop, examine and search passengers at ports, airports and international rail terminals.
Unlike with some other police powers to stop and search, there is no requirement for an officer to have a "reasonable suspicion" that someone is involved with terrorism before they are stopped.
A passenger can be held for questioning for up to nine hours and those detained must "give the examining officer any information in his possession which the officer requests".
Any property seized must be returned after seven days, but data from mobile phones and laptops may be downloaded and retained by the police for longer.
Those detained are compelled to answer questions from the police and must not "obstruct" or "frustrate" any police searches.
If someone fails to co-operate they are deemed to have committed a criminal offence and could face up to three months in prison, a fine or both.