United Kingdom detains journalist's partner under terrorism law and oversees destruction of Guardian hard drives holding Snowden files

Published 2026-09-22. Last reviewed 2026-09-22. 3 sources.

Status: historical, as of 2026-09-22.

British authorities detained David Miranda, partner of Guardian journalist Glenn Greenwald, for nine hours at Heathrow Airport under anti-terrorism powers, and separately had Guardian staff destroy hard drives holding files leaked by Edward Snowden rather than hand them to a court.¹²³⁴⁵⁶

Country: United Kingdom (RSF 2026 rank: 18th of 180)
Where: United Kingdom
Level of government: National
Tactics: Surveillance and subpoenas, Detention and violence
Stage: Punish (see the ladder)
Head of government at the time: David Cameron
Issue of the day: The Guardian's 2013 reporting, based on files leaked by former NSA contractor Edward Snowden, on mass surveillance by the United States and United Kingdom.
Outcome: Upheld by a court, January 19, 2016. The Court of Appeal ruled in January 2016 that Miranda's detention itself was lawful, but found Schedule 7's stop powers incompatible with press-freedom protections for journalistic material generally.
Era: The 2010s

What happened

In August 2013, as The Guardian was reporting on National Security Agency (NSA) surveillance based on documents leaked by former contractor Edward Snowden, British authorities detained David Miranda, the partner of Guardian journalist Glenn Greenwald, for nine hours at London's Heathrow Airport, the maximum allowed without charge under Schedule 7 of the Terrorism Act 2000, a law letting officers stop and question travellers at ports without suspicion of a crime. Officers questioned him and seized electronic devices; the government said police were right to stop people suspected of possessing "highly sensitive stolen information that would help terrorism." Separately, British intelligence officials visited The Guardian's London offices and, editor Alan Rusbridger said, watched as Guardian staff used power drills to destroy hard drives containing Snowden material in the building's basement, after officials told the paper, in Rusbridger's account, "You've had your fun. Now we want the stuff back." Rusbridger said the paper chose destruction over handing material to a court because copies existed elsewhere, including in the United States.¹²³⁴⁵⁶

What reason was given

The government said Miranda's detention was justified because he was suspected of carrying "highly sensitive stolen information that would help terrorism," and that authorities had "a duty to protect the public and our national security."²⁵

What changed for reporting

A journalist's partner was held for nine hours and had devices seized without being charged with any offense, and Guardian staff destroyed computer hard drives under official observation rather than hand Snowden material to a court, an episode Greenwald said would only make him "far more aggressive" in reporting.³

Timeline

2013

August 18, 2013

United Kingdom detains journalist's partner under terrorism law and oversees destruction of Guardian hard drives holding Snowden files

Who acted

Name	Role in this incident	Office at the time
Alan Rusbridger	other	Editor-in-chief, The Guardian
David Cameron	other	Prime Minister of the United Kingdom
David Miranda	other	Partner of journalist Glenn Greenwald
Glenn Greenwald	other	Journalist, The Guardian

Outlets and journalists

Name	Kind	Relation
The Guardian	outlet	affected

Sources

UK defends Snowden-linked detentionAl Jazeera, 2013-08-20, reporting. Source record
'Guardian' Destroyed Hard Drives With Snowden DocumentsNPR, 2013-08-20, reporting. Source record
Stop Powers under the Terrorism Act 2000 incompatible with Article 10UK Human Rights Blog, 2016-01-21, reporting. Source record

Claims cited

UK terrorism law allowed detaining Miranda for up to nine hours without charge. Under schedule 7 of the Terrorism Act 2000, UK authorities are allowed to stop, search and detain passengers at rail, air and sea ports without probable cause, for up to nine hours. UK defends Snowden-linked detention, Al Jazeera, 2013-08-20. Claim 317, checked 2026-09-22.
The government said police were right to stop people suspected of carrying material that could help terrorism. police were right to stop people suspected of possessing 'highly sensitive stolen information that would help terrorism.' UK defends Snowden-linked detention, Al Jazeera, 2013-08-20. Claim 318, checked 2026-09-22.
Greenwald said the detention would make him report more aggressively on Britain's surveillance system. I will be far more aggressive in my reporting from now. I have many documents on England's spy system. I think they will regret what they have done. UK defends Snowden-linked detention, Al Jazeera, 2013-08-20. Claim 319, checked 2026-09-22.
Rusbridger described Guardian staff destroying hard drives with power drills while intelligence officials watched. it was certainly one of the most bizarre experiences in my journalistic career to have editorial people in a basement with power drills, being looked on by men from spying agencies involved in smashing up computers. 'Guardian' Destroyed Hard Drives With Snowden Documents, NPR, 2013-08-20. Claim 320, checked 2026-09-22.
An official told the Guardian it had had its fun and the government now wanted the material back. You've had your fun. Now we want the stuff back. 'Guardian' Destroyed Hard Drives With Snowden Documents, NPR, 2013-08-20. Claim 321, checked 2026-09-22.
The Court of Appeal found Schedule 7's stop powers incompatible with press-freedom protections. the stop powers under Schedule 7 were therefore incompatible with Article 10 Stop Powers under the Terrorism Act 2000 incompatible with Article 10, UK Human Rights Blog, 2016-01-21. Claim 322, checked 2026-09-22.