LONDON: The partner of US journalist Glenn Greenwald is taking legal action over his detention by British authorities, the editor of The Guardian newspaper said on Tuesday.

“David Miranda is taking a civil action over his material and the way that he was treated,” editor Alan Rusbridger, whose newspaper has worked with Greenwald and Edward Snowden to expose US intelligence tactics, told the BBC.

Miranda, a Brazilian national, spent almost nine hours in detention under British anti-terror legislation on Sunday as he passed through London Heathrow Airport en route from Berlin to Rio de Janeiro.

British police confiscated some of Miranda's electronic equipment including his mobile phone, laptop, camera, memory sticks, DVDs and games consoles, according to The Guardian.

The Guardian itself was not taking legal action, Rusbridger said.

“At the moment this is a legal challenge by David Miranda, who is the individual, and he has lawyers who will mount that challenge,” the editor said. “He wants that material back and he doesn't want it copied.”