Pro-life woman wins £13k payout from UK police for ‘unlawful’ arrests outside abortion clinic

Image Credit: ADF UK

A woman arrested twice for praying silently outside an abortion clinic has received a £13,000 payout and an apology from UK police after she contested her arrests as a breach of her human rights, a development hailed by campaigners as a major victory against government censorship.

Isabel Vaughan-Spruce was first arrested in November 2022 for silently praying in a censored “buffer zone” installed by local authorities via a Public Spaces Protection Order, which banned all expressions of “approval or disapproval with respect to issues related to abortion services, by any means” within the vicinity of abortion facilities.

Ms Vaughan-Spruce was searched by police, arrested, criminally charged and tried before being fully acquitted of all charges at Birmingham Magistrates’ Court after prosecutors failed to provide evidence in support of the charge.

Despite this, Ms Vaughan-Spruce was arrested a second time weeks later for the same reason, with six police officers attending the scene.

One officer told Ms Vaughan-Spruce on that occasion that “you’ve said you’re engaging in prayer, which is the offence”.

Supported by legal-advocacy firm ADF UK, Ms Vaughan-Spruce issued a claim against West Midlands Police for two wrongful arrests and false imprisonments; assault and battery in relation to an intrusive search of her person; and for a breach of her human rights with regards to the arrests, and to the bail conditions imposed on her.

This comes following the news that the British Home Office is set to strengthen the prohibition on silent prayer near abortion facilities by explicitly criminalising it in imminent “buffer zones” legislation.

UK Ministers are poised to review previous guidance which stated that: “Silent prayer, being the engagement of the mind and thought in prayer towards God, is protected as an absolute right under the Human Rights Act 1998 and should not, on its own, be considered to be an offence under any circumstances.”

Commenting on news of the settlement, Ms Vaughan-Spruce said that she was “delighted” that the settlement acknowledges that there’s “no place for Orwell’s ‘thought police’ in 21st Century Britain”.

“Silent prayer is not a crime. Nobody should be arrested merely for the thoughts they have in their heads – yet this happened to me twice at the hands of the West Midlands Police, who explicitly told me that ‘prayer is an offence’,” Ms Vaughan-Spruce said.

“There is no place for Orwell’s ‘thought police’ in 21st Century Britain, and thanks to legal support I received from ADF UK, I’m delighted that the settlement that I have received today acknowledges that. Yet despite this victory, I am deeply concerned that this violation could be repeated at the hands of other police forces.

“Our culture is shifting towards a clamp down on viewpoint diversity, with Christian thought and prayer increasingly under threat of censorship. A ‘buffer zone’ policy is set to be rolled out by the government imminently – the language of which is inherently unclear, and will likely lead to further violations against the freedom to pray, or peacefully converse or offer help near abortion facilities,” she said.

Senior Conservative Peer and former cabinet minister, Lord David Frost welcomed the news of the settlement Ms Vaughan-Spruce received, saying, “It is incredible that people have been arrested for thoughtcrime in modern Britain. I am very glad Ms Vaughan-Spruce has received compensation for her unjust arrest for this so-called offence”.

“But if a recent report is correct that the Government is considering formally criminalising silent prayer outside abortion centres, then there will be further such cases, and then not just freedom of speech but freedom of thought will be under threat. It is hard to imagine a more absurd and dangerous situation,” he said.

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Jason Osborne

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This article first appeared on Gript and is published here with permission