A Christian woman who was arrested after she silently prayed outside an abortion clinic has been awarded a £13,000 payout and an apology from the police.
Isabel Vaughan-Spruce issued a claim against West Midlands Police for 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 in 2022 and 2023.
She was first arrested in 2022 after she engaged in silent prayer in a “buffer zone” imposed by local authorities around the BPAS Robert Clinic in Kings Norton, Birmingham.
A law was passed last year which introduced the zones - which would extend 150m from the clinics - to protect women from protesters, but it has yet to come into effect.
Isabel Vaughan-Spruce has received thousands in compensation and apology from the policePAVaughan-Spruce was told that “engaging in prayer” was an “offence”, but was found not guilty by Birmingham Magistrates Court after the prosecution was unable to offer evidence to support the charge.
However, weeks later, she was arrested a second time in February 2023 for the same offence outside the same clinic, though she insisted that she was “not protesting”.
Six months later, police later dropped the charges, apologising to Vaughan-Spruce and stating that “there will be no further investigation”.
Vaughan-Spruce, who has now also received £13,000 in compensation, said in a statement: “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’.
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Vaughan-Spruce was told that 'engaging in prayer' was an 'offence', but was found not guilty by Birmingham Magistrates Court
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“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 clampdown on viewpoint diversity, with Christian thought and prayer increasingly under threat of censorship.”
Last week, the Home Office said that it is considering banning anti-abortion campaigners from silently praying outside clinics.
However, draft guidance released in 2023 to the recently passed law seemed to soften its stance on anti-abortion campaigners' actions within the buffer zones.
Vaughan-Spruce received £13,000 compensation
PA
The guidance stated that silent prayer, as well as “consensual communication” such as handing out leaflets, should be allowed inside the new “safe access zones”.
It currently states that “prayer within a safe access zone should not automatically be seen as unlawful”.
Ministers are now understood to be reviewing this updated guidance, though it is not certain which aspects of the legislation will be revised, The Telegraph has reported.
Discussing Vaughan-Spruce's case, Lord Frost said: “It is incredible that people have been arrested for thoughtcrime in modern Britain. I am very glad 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.
“It would be much better to stick to the sensible approach in the previous Home Secretary's draft guidance, which proposed a much better balance between the various competing rights and interests. If the government scraps it, then it will be clear to all that its commitment to civil liberties and fundamental freedoms is paper-thin.”
Earlier this month, Jess Phillips, the safeguarding minister, confirmed that the Government would “imminently” establish safe access zones around abortion facilities.
Deputy Leader of Reform UK Richard Tice said: “The arrests of Ms Vaughan-Spruce for silent prayer are another clear example of two-tier policing in the UK. Nobody should be criminalised for their thoughts. It is right that she has received compensation from the police.
“This case is yet another reason why we need a Free Speech Bill that would prevent such ridiculous arrests from taking place in the first place.
“It is becoming increasingly difficult to deny that mainstream Christian beliefs are not treated fairly by our elites, while other beliefs are given privileged status.
“This is especially worrying in light of the Home Secretary saying Labour will crack down on people ‘pushing harmful and hateful beliefs’.
“Yvette Cooper should answer: does she include mainstream Christian beliefs in this category?”
