The leader of far-right group Britain First has been charged with an offence under the Terrorism Act.

Paul Golding, 38, refused to give officers from the Met’s Counter Terrorism Command access to his phone after being stopped at Heathrow Airport in October as he made his way back from a trip to the Russian Parliament in Moscow.

Golding refused to give the pin codes for a number of his electronic devices.

He was later charged with refusing to comply with a duty under Schedule 7 of the act and is due to appear at Westminster Magistrates Court on Friday.

In a statement Golding said he was not a terrorist and described the charges as ‘an abuse of legislation’.

Schedule 7 allows police to interrogate, search and detain anyone for up to six hours at UK ports.

It is designed to determine whether an individual is involved in the ‘commission, preparation or instigation’ of acts of terrorism.

Golding, who was a member of the BNP, became leader of Britain First in 2014.

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