Thames Valley Police was the force responsible for seizing a Newsnight journalist's laptop, it has emerged.

Secunder Kermani, who has interviewed British-born jihadis and so-called Islamic State (IS) fighters, was forced by officers to hand over the laptop after they secured an order from a judge.

And the Press Gazette today revealed Thames Valley Police made the application last August.

It was not contested by the BBC, Press Gazette added.

Thames Valley Police said: "It would be inappropriate to talk about any ongoing live investigation; however the South East Counter Terrorism Unit (SECTU) regularly conducts investigations where items may need to be examined.

"SECTU will always seek co-operation of the public and others who can voluntarily disclose material which may assist an ongoing investigation. Where co-operation is not agreed officers can seek a court order under under the Terrorism Act, these are used proportionately and on a case by case basis.

"In order to obtain a court order officers would have to satisfy the Crown Court that there were sufficient grounds to justify the issue of a Production Order under the Terrorism Act.

"The Respondent in any such process can contest the Order which can then be heard at a higher court. In this particular case, the BBC attended the hearing in August and did not contest the application or decision of the court. Police have since returned the laptop that was the subject of this Order."

It comes after TVP refused to confirm or deny whether it used anti-terrorism laws to spy on journalists.

In August it said it would not reveal whether it misused the Regulation of Investigatory Powers Act (RIPA) to snoop on journalists, despite admitting it would be in the public interest to do so.

The force previously refused to respond to Freedom of Information requests from the Oxford Mail, claiming it had been asked "too many times" and labelling the paper "vexatious".

TVP said it did hold the information relevant to the request, but refused to say what that was.

After an Oxford Mail appeal to the information watchdog – the Information Commissioner's Office (ICO) – it was ruled Thames Valley Police was wrong to reject the enquiry. 

The ICO ordered the force to either reveal it had used anti-terror laws to spy on journalists or come up with new reasons to keep the information secret.

Despite the ruling, the force has refused to give details of its use of RIPA – originally intended to fight terrorism and organised crime – by claiming law enforcement would be compromised if it did so.

The force has previously admitted using RIPA when it bugged the meeting of local newspaper reporter Sally Murrer and an officer in 2006.

TVP was previously told to ‘stop hiding behind a smoke screen’ and release the information publicly.

Bob Satchwell, executive director of the Society of Editors, said RIPA could be misused against the public just as it had against journalists.

He said: “This legislation was intended for serious crimes – murder and terrorism – but people now seem to think it’s perfectly alright to use it for anything. (Police) should not use it for ‘fishing’ expeditions.”