"The decision means that lawyers can be subject to counter-terrorism powers and have their privileged communications extracted and examined by the state, without having the right to know the case against them, said advocacy group Cage. Fahad Ansari, who acts for Hamas in a legal appeal to have its proscribed status in the UK overturned, was stopped by police under Schedule 7 of the terrorist act while returning from holiday with his family last year."
"The high court ruled on 4 March that police may present evidence about the reasons stopping Ansari in a closed court in front of a special advocate without Ansari or his lawyers being present - preventing Ansari or his legal team from learning the reasons why he was stopped. Lawyers for Ansari argued the lawyer was entitled to be given a sufficient 'gist' of the police's case against him to enable him to disprove the police's case."
"Hugh Southey KC told the court in October 2025 that Ansari's work phone contained data going back 15 years, including privileged material relating to his clients, and that any data extracted by the police should be deleted. Ansari, an Irish citizen, argues that he was unlawfully stopped, detained and questioned."
A UK high court decision permits police to stop and question lawyers under Schedule 7 of the Terrorist Act and seize their electronic devices without suspicion or disclosure of reasons. Fahad Ansari, a solicitor representing Hamas in a legal appeal, was stopped while returning from holiday and had his work phone seized for forensic examination. The court ruled that police may present evidence about the stop in closed court proceedings before a special advocate, excluding Ansari and his legal team from learning the justification. This marks the first targeted use of Schedule 7 powers against a practising solicitor. The ruling allows state examination of privileged attorney-client communications without the lawyer's right to know the case against them.
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