A British anti-disinformation campaigner close to Keir Starmer’s chief of staff has launched a legal challenge against the Trump administration after being told he could face deportation from the US in a row over freedom of speech.

Imran Ahmed, the chief executive of the Centre for Countering Digital Hate (CCDH), has filed a complaint against senior Trump allies including the secretary of state, Marco Rubio, and the attorney general, Pam Bondi, in an attempt to prevent what he says would be an unconstitutional arrest and removal.

The court filing, lodged in the southern district of New York, claims Ahmed is being targeted over his organisation’s work scrutinising social media companies – including Elon Musk’s X – in violation of his first amendment rights.

It also argues there is no credible basis for the detention and expulsion of Ahmed, who lives lawfully in Washington DC with his American wife and child, and is a friend of No 10 chief of staff Morgan McSweeney.