Sławomir Mentzen said he was detained for more than three hours at a London airport on Friday before being released. The Konfederacja co-leader and lawmaker said he had flown to London that morning with his wife and children to spend the weekend there.
London airport on Friday
Mentzen said British authorities held him because they feared he would speak at a political meeting, although he said he was not going to such a meeting. After more than three hours, he said, his passport was returned and he was released.
He said he received no explanation of who did not want him to enter the United Kingdom or why. In the waiting area, he compared his treatment with that of people arriving from the Middle East and said he was the only European detained at that time.
Mentzen's account on X
On X, Mentzen wrote: "Zostałem dziś zatrzymany na ponad trzy godziny na lotnisku w Londynie, ponieważ Brytyjczycy bali się, że będę przemawiał na jakimś spotkaniu politycznym, na które nawet się nie wybierałem." He also wrote: "W połowie trzeciej godziny pilnujący mnie strażnicy zaczęli mnie dopytywać, kim ja jestem i skąd przyleciałem, skoro mnie tu tyle trzymają."
He added that he found himself "bez żadnych informacji w pomieszczeniu z przybyszami z Bliskiego Wschodu." In another post, he said: "Bez żadnych wyjaśnień, kto i dlaczego nie chciał, żebym mógł wjechać do Wielkiej Brytanii."
Mentzen also pointed to earlier entry problems to the United Kingdom involving Rafał Ziemkiewicz and Janusz Korwin-Mikke. His account leaves the reason for the detention tied to British border handling, while the explanation he was given stopped at a suspicion he says was wrong.
