Twitter joke led to Terror Act arrest and airport life ban, Man bailed but suspended by his employer after ordeal by interrogation

By Mark Hughes and Jason Walsh

When heavy snowfall threatened to scupper Paul Chambers's travel plans, he decided to vent his frustrations on Twitter by tapping out a comment to amuse his friends. "Robin Hood airport is closed," he wrote. "You've got a week and a bit to get your shit together, otherwise I'm blowing the airport sky high!!"


Unfortunately for Mr Chambers, the police didn't see the funny side. A week after posting the message on the social networking site, he was arrested under the Terrorism Act and questioned for almost seven hours by detectives who interpreted his post as a security threat. After he was released on bail, he was suspended from work pending an internal investigation, and has, he says, been banned from the Doncaster airport for life. "I would never have thought, in a thousand years, that any of this would have happened because of a Twitter post," said Mr Chambers, 26. "I'm the most mild-mannered guy you could imagine."

While it has happened in the United States, Mr Chambers is thought to be the first person in the United Kingdom to be arrested for comments posted on Twitter. His ordeal began on 6 January when, after hearing that extreme weather had forced the closure of Robin Hood airport, he posted the ill-advised message – frustrated because he was to fly to Ireland from that airport on Friday 15 January.

On 13 January, after apparently receiving a tip-off from a member of the public, police arrived at Mr Chambers' office. "My first thought upon hearing it was the police was that perhaps a member of my family had been in an accident," he said. "Then they said I was being arrested under the Terrorism Act and produced a piece of paper. It was a print-out of my Twitter page. That was when it dawned on me."

Mr Chambers said the police seemed unable to comprehend the intended humour in his online comment. "I had to explain Twitter to them in its entirety because they'd never heard of it," he said. "Then they asked all about my home life, and how work was going, and other personal things. The lead investigator kept asking, 'Do you understand why this is happening?' and saying, 'It is the world we live in'."

After the interview, Mr Hale was returned to a cell for an hour then released. But, he said, not before the police deleted the post from his Twitter page. He has been bailed until 11 February, when he will be told whether or not he will be charged with conspiring to create a bomb hoax. In the interim, detectives have confiscated his iPhone, laptop and home computer.

The civil libertarian Tessa Mayes, an expert on privacy law and free speech issues, said: "Making jokes about terrorism is considered a thought crime, mistakenly seen as a real act of harm or intention to commit harm.

"The police's actions seem laughable and suggest desperation in their efforts to combat terrorism, yet they have serious repercussions for all of us. In a democracy, our right to say what we please to each other should be non-negotiable, even on Twitter."

A spokesman for South Yorkshire Police confirmed the arrest and said: "A male was arrested on 13 January for comments made on a social networking site. He has been bailed pending further investigations."

Nobody from Robin Hood airport could be contacted last night.

http://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/home-news/twitter-joke-led-to-...

Views: 39

Comment

You need to be a member of 12160 Social Network to add comments!

Join 12160 Social Network

"Destroying the New World Order"

TOP CONTENT THIS WEEK

THANK YOU FOR SUPPORTING THE SITE!

mobile page

12160.info/m

12160 Administrators

 

Latest Activity

Less Prone favorited tjdavis's video
12 hours ago
Less Prone favorited tjdavis's video
12 hours ago
Less Prone posted photos
12 hours ago
tjdavis posted a video

Zero Days - Official Trailer

Streaming now on @DocPlay: https://www.docplay.com/shows/day-zeroFrom Academy Award-winning filmmaker Alex Gibney (Going Clear: Scientology and the Prison of...
16 hours ago
Doc Vega posted a blog post

Is This Story True and Have their Identities Been Changed?

(Perhaps it’s the only way it can be told) Chapter 1Roy reached across the aisle of the DC-3 as it…See More
21 hours ago
Doc Vega posted photos
22 hours ago
Sandy posted videos
Sunday
cheeki kea commented on cheeki kea's photo
Sunday
cheeki kea posted a photo
Sunday
cheeki kea favorited Doc Vega's blog post A Grain of Hope
Sunday
Doc Vega posted blog posts
Saturday
Doc Vega's 7 blog posts were featured
Saturday
tjdavis's blog post was featured
Saturday
Burbia's blog post was featured

Mystery illness strikes Russia with fever, blood symptoms, and no cure in sight.

I guess releasing this bio-weapon upon Israeli neighbors would be hitting too close to home. I…See More
Saturday
Less Prone commented on Doc Vega's photo
Thumbnail

main-qimg-357a10f7111dcf87a3cc6e2afad83855

"Islam is only a phase preceding a total Talmudic rule and a new world religion."
Saturday
Less Prone commented on tjdavis's photo
Thumbnail

WWRJD

"I doubt a d-rat Jesus would be better. Much worse. “Politicians are the lowest form of life…"
Saturday
Less Prone favorited tjdavis's photo
Saturday
Doc Vega posted blog posts
Friday
cheeki kea commented on cheeki kea's photo
Thumbnail

Lost History

"The Tartar wall - aka The Great Wall of China is hundreds of years old and was up and running in…"
Friday
cheeki kea posted a photo
Friday

© 2025   Created by truth.   Powered by

Badges  |  Report an Issue  |  Terms of Service

content and site copyright 12160.info 2007-2019 - all rights reserved. unless otherwise noted