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Twitter joke leads to Terrorism Act arrest

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Twitter joke leads to Terrorism Act arrest

18.01.2010
You’ve heard about people being arrested following flippant remarks about bombs at airports or on airplanes, but what about venting your frustration on Twitter? That’s also a no-go and falls under the Terrorism Act 2006.

Twenty-six-year-old finance supervisor Paul Chambers found out the hard way when he put out a seemingly glib message on his Twitter account, where he said he would blow up Robin Hood Airport in Doncaster in the UK if his flight was delayed.

"Crap! Robin Hood airport is closed. You've got a week and a bit to get your shit together, otherwise I'm blowing the airport sky high!!,” said Chambers on his Twitter homepage on 6 January.

On 13 January, he was arrested under the Terrorism Act at his home after a printout of his Twitter page was produced

"I had to explain Twitter to them in its entirety because they'd never heard of it,” he told the Mail Online.

“The lead investigator kept asking, ‘Do you understand why this is happening?’ and saying, ‘It is the world we live in’".

Chambers was subjected to a seven-hour interrogation and banned for life from Doncaster Airport.

By Marie Boran

Photo: One user's off-the-cuff remarks on micro-blogging site Twitter lead to his arrest under the Terrorism Act

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