Alleged Travel "inhibition" Incident
On April 18, 2012, Robinson alleged on her Twitter feed that she was delayed from checking in at London's Heathrow Airport, having been told that she was "inhibited" by "certain government agencies" from travelling. A security guard is alleged to have told her "you must have done something controversial" while, it was claimed, the security staff phoned the Australia Department of Foreign Affairs. Robinson then tweeted "@dfat Please explain: What is the "inhibited" travel list? And why am I now apparently on it?" Senator Scott Ludlum sent a tweet questioning the Department of Foreign Affairs: "@DFAT care to explain why @suigenerisjen is on your watch list? what kind of threat do human rights lawyers pose exactly?". After the delay, Robinson was allowed to board her flight bound for Australia.
Within hours of the question being asked by Robinson, a spokesperson for the Department of Foreign Affairs is quoted as having said to Crikey magazine: “We are not aware of any Australian Government restriction applying to Ms Robinson’s travel. As an Australian with a valid passport, she would be free to return to Australia at any stage. The UK border authorities or airline of travel may be able to provide further insight on claims that she was impeded from boarding her flight.” The Guardian also reports that ""The Australian High Commission in London has no record of a call being received from UK authorities concerning her travel."
After arriving in Australia and speaking personally with Nicola Roxon, Robinson tweeted that Roxon "confirmed the Australian government had nothing to do with the issue I had at Heathrow and expressed concern for protection of lawyers".
Bernard Keane reported in Crikey that "inhibited person" is "not a term used by Australian agencies" but, Keane claimed, it was a term used by the United States Department of Homeland Security.
Despite extensive media coverage, no independent evidence has ever been identified (other than that of Robinson) for the event occurring in the way Robinson describes.
Read more about this topic: Jennifer Robinson
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