- U.S. President J.D. Vance has called out UK authorities for prosecuting an army veteran for his silent prayers near an abortion facility
- Smith-Connor “overwhelmingly thankful” for support from the Vice President as he prepares to appeal his conviction in July, with support from ADF International
MUNICH (14 February 2025) – “Free speech, I fear, is in retreat”, said U.S. Vice-President J.D. Vance in an address to world leaders at a security conference in Munich today.
Listing egregious examples of authoritarian censorship across Europe, Vance highlighted the “most concerning” case of Adam Smith-Connor – the army veteran and father of two in Britain who was convicted in November 2024 for praying silently, for a few minutes, on a public space across the road from an abortion facility, where a “buffer zone” was enforced.
Reflecting on his concerns for Europe, the Vice-President said:
“…perhaps most concerning, I look to our very dear friends, the United Kingdom, where the backslide away from conscience rights has placed the basic liberties of religious Britons, in particular in the crosshairs.
“A little over two years ago, the British government charged Adam Smith Connor, a 51 year old physiotherapist and an Army veteran, with the heinous crime of standing 50m from an abortion clinic and silently praying for three minutes, not obstructing anyone, not interacting with anyone, just silently praying on his own.”
“I'm overwhelmingly thankful to Vice President Vance for raising my plight in front of world leaders.Nobody should be criminalised for their prayers, their mere thoughts."
In November 2022, Smith-Connor was confronted by officers who asked “what is the nature of your prayer?”, on a public green within a large “buffer zone” – an area covering several streets in the town – in which authorities have banned various expressions of pro-life or Christian belief, including through offering help to women in crisis pregnancies, or praying.
Read the full text of the Public Spaces Protection Order here.
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More InformationAdam was later charged, prosecuted, and convicted for his prayers at Poole Magistrates Court in October 2024. With support from ADF International, he is appealing his conviction.
The UK government has since nationalised “buffer zones”, banning “influence” within 150m of every abortion facility in the country.
Upon hearing the words of the Vice President, Adam Smith-Connor said:
“I’m overwhelmingly thankful to Vice President Vance for raising my plight in front of world leaders. Nobody should be criminalised for their prayers, their mere thoughts – this case has exposed the UK authorities in front of the world as they allow “thought police” to prosecute peaceful, innocent people for what’s going on in their minds.
“With support from ADF International, I will be appealing my ruling in July and hope for justice to be restored. Silent prayers are not a crime – not here, not anywhere.”
Jeremiah Igunnubole, Legal Counsel for ADF International, supporting Adam’s legal defence, said:
“The policing of people’s very thoughts in “buffer zones” is the most extreme example of censorship across the West. While crime festers on the streets of England, it’s unbelievable that police time and resources are focused on criminalising peaceful Christians, who simply want to pray.
“Nobody can deny that two-tier policing is a problem here; nobody can deny that we are riding roughshod over freedom of speech and of thought. I thank VP Vance for issuing this wake-up call to our government – we must restore basic standards of human rights.”
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Pictured: Adam Smith-Connor, Jeremiah Igunnubole
