Image source, PA Media Image caption,

Sayed Ahmed Alwadei was previously involved in a court case that saw an MP convicted of racial abuse

By Callum May

BBC News

The Home Office has apologised to a human-rights activist held at Gatwick Airport by the Border Force.

Sayed Ahmed Alwadei, who campaigns for human rights in Bahrain, was detained for two and a half hours in September 2023, after returning from Geneva.

Mr Alwadei, a refugee who has indefinite leave to remain in the UK, was told by Home Office lawyers he had been "unlawfully detained".

The Home Office said it could not comment on individual cases.

Mr Alwadei said border officials had stopped him, after a trip to speak to United Nations officials about human rights in Bahrain.

The previous month, he had been detained after a trip to South Africa.

'Records updated'

An apology sent to Mr Alwadei's lawyers said: "The home secretary has reviewed his records and accepts that your client was unlawfully detained.

"Your client's immigration records have been checked and the records updated to make sure this does not happen in the future.