A Christian woman criminally charged because she “stood outside” an abortion facility in Birmingham and silently prayed appeared in court for a first hearing today and plead ‘not guilty’.
Continue reading
BIRMINGHAM (27 January 2026) – A Christian woman criminally charged because she “stood outside” an abortion facility in Birmingham and silently prayed will appear in court on Thursday.
Charity volunteer Isabel Vaughan-Spruce, who was criminally charged last December by West Midlands Police and the Crown Prosecution Service for silently praying in a “buffer zone”, will appear in Birmingham Magistrates’ Court for a first hearing on Thursday 29 January at 10am.
She is expected to enter a plea of “not guilty” and to receive a trial date at the hearing. ADF International is supporting her legal defence.
This is the first time someone has been criminally charged under national “buffer zone” legislation, which came into force in October 2024, under Section 9 of the Public Order Act 2023.
The new national law prohibits “influencing any person’s decision to access, provide or facilitate the provision of abortion services” within 150m of abortion facilities, but does not mention silent prayer specifically.
CPS guidance on the law stipulates that silent prayer on its own is not enough to meet the threshold of criminality unless it is accompanied by “overt” activity.
All previous court cases regarding the status of silent prayer took place in the context of “buffer zones” enforced by local authorities via Public Spaces Protection Orders, rather than through this new law.
Ms Vaughan-Spruce has previously been arrested twice for her silent prayers.
She was cleared in court in February 2023 after her first arrest, and after being arrested a second time in March 2023, the police dropped their investigation.
In August 2024, Ms Vaughan-Spruce won a payout of £13,000 from West Midlands Police after she issued a claim for unlawful arrests and the breach of her human rights.
Thursday’s court hearing follows US Vice President JD Vance commenting on “buffer zone” censorship at the Washington DC March for Life 2026 on Friday.
Vice President Vance said: “It’s why we speak up when other nations throw pro-life and pro-family advocates in prison for silent prayer. Which we’ve seen way too much, but it’s got to stop.”
The US Administration has criticised “buffer zone” censorship in the UK on multiple occasions.
Ms Vaughan-Spruce commented:
“Despite being fully vindicated multiple times after being wrongfully arrested for my thoughts, it’s unbelievable that I have yet again been charged for standing in that public area, and holding pro-life beliefs. Silent prayer – or holding pro-life beliefs – cannot possibly be a crime. Everyone has the right to freedom of thought.”
Jeremiah Igunnubole, legal counsel for ADF International, said:
“’Buffer zones’ are among the most concerning frontiers of censorship in the modern West. We all stand against harassment and abuse, but the ‘buffer zone’ law broadly bans ‘influence’ which is being interpreted by police officers to target innocent people who happen to stand in a certain place and believe a certain thing. We will continue to robustly challenge this unjust censorship, and support Isabel’s right to think and believe freely as is the right of every person in the UK.”
Investigated for a “thoughtcrime”
On 18 March 2025, West Midlands Police informed Ms Vaughan-Spruce she was under investigation for praying silently near the facility on 27 January 2025, as well as several other subsequent dates.
Ms Vaughan-Spruce has been peacefully praying in the same public area on a regular basis for two decades.
With legal support from ADF International, Ms Vaughan-Spruce sent numerous requests for clarification in proceeding months as to the status of her case, pointing out that the legislation does not function as a ban on her mere presence or on holding pro-life Christian beliefs.
The Attorney General confirmed on 16 December 2025, in response to a parliamentary question from former Home Secretary Suella Braverman MP about Ms Vaughan-Spruce’s case, that: “The Crown Prosecution Service has issued proceedings under Section 9 of the Public Order Act 2023, in relation to one case, since it was commenced on 31 October 2024.”
Ms Vaughan-Spruce had not yet received information about the charging decision when this written answer was issued by the Attorney General, but was informed hours later in a letter from West Midlands Police.
The length of time taken for a charging decision, nearly one year, was highly unusual for a case like hers.
The charge read: “[Isabel] stood outside of the Robert Clinic [the abortion facility]… intending that, or being reckless as to whether, it had the effect of influencing any person’s decision to access, provide or facilitate the provision of abortion services at an abortion clinic.”
Repeated injustice over silent “thoughtcrime”
In 2023, the charitable volunteer was acquitted in court after being arrested for praying in a local “buffer zone,” under a Public Spaces Protection Order that banned “expressions of approval or disapproval” of abortion. The incident occurred while the abortion facility was closed. The prosecution offered no evidence to support a conviction.
Despite being cleared of any wrongdoing, Ms Vaughan-Spruce was arrested again for her silent thoughts in the same location weeks later in March 2023, opening an investigation that lasted several months. In August 2024, Ms Vaughan-Spruce successfully challenged her two unjust arrests and received a settlement from West Midlands Police of £13,000.
On regular occasions, she has been approached by officers and asked if she is praying. Once, she was observed by two officers posted to watch her activities.
Images for free use in print or online in relation to this story only
Pictured: Isabel Vaughan-Spruce, Jeremiah Igunnubole
BRISTOL (2 August 2025) – Police threatened to arrest a Christian pastor for “public order offences”, after he was assaulted by Muslim men who objected to his preaching in Bristol.
One of the men threatened to stab Pastor Dia Moodley, who was preaching in Bristol city centre about the differences between Christianity and Islam while holding a Quran.
Avon and Somerset Police officers responded by threatening to arrest the pastor twice for “breaching the peace”, despite the fact that the men had pinned the Christian to the floor and tried to take the Quran from his hands, which they said was their book, not his.
Pastor Moodley met with the US State Department prior to this incident and spoke about his previous experience as a victim of censorship in the UK, at a meeting facilitated ADF International.
On previous occasions, the police tried to censor the pastor’s preaching and last year arrested him for commenting on Islam.
ADF International supports Pastor Moodley’s action against Avon and Somerset Police, which includes a complaint concerning the most recent incident, regarding the police’s treatment of him and their failure to promptly investigate serious crimes against him.
With the help of ADF International, Pastor Moodley is also taking an action for compensation against Avon and Somerset Police, for his signs, which were destroyed under police instruction following his arrest last year.
In a vindication for Pastor Moodley, the police apologised for the destruction of his signs and reiterated that apology after he submitted a complaint with the support of ADF International.
Pastor Moodley said: “I preach in public because I believe all people, including Muslims, need to know that Jesus Christ is ‘the way, and the truth, and the life’. I always do so respectfully, out of love for my neighbour.
“Unfortunately, on this occasion a group of Muslim men objected to my preaching and reacted with violence. It’s shocking that the police initially said I had breached the peace. This shows yet again that two-tier policing, which targets the expression of Christians, is a reality in modern day Britain.
“My case is evidence of the severe free speech crisis in the UK, which has increasingly been making headlines and has even attracted expressions of alarm from the United States.”
Lorcán Price, an Irish barrister and Legal Counsel for ADF International, said: “We are proud to stand alongside Pastor Moodley in his fight for free speech. His experience shows clearly the extent to which the right to free speech has deteriorated in the UK, including with the imposition of de facto blasphemy laws that target Christian expression, through public order and other legislation.
“All in favour of free speech must support repealing censorial legislation and introducing stronger protections for freedom of expression in the UK. Otherwise, innocent people like Pastor Moodley will be forced out of the public square or face unjust criminalisation for their peaceful expression.”
Background
On 22 March, Pastor Moodley engaged in street preaching in Bristol city centre, where he spoke about the differences between Jesus and Mohammed, while holding a Quran.
A crowd gathered and a number of Muslim men took offence at Pastor Moodley’s preaching, with one man threatening to stab him and another attempting to punch his wife.
The bystanders then proceeded to try to forcibly take Pastor Moodley’s Quran. They pushed him off his ladder, pinned him to the floor, and claimed the Quran was their book, not his.
In response, police officers told Pastor Moodley on two separate occasions that he would be arrested for a breach of the peace—despite the fact that he had been the victim of crime.
Meanwhile, the man who had threatened to stab Pastor Moodley continued to make threats in the presence of the officers.
That man was not arrested or questioned at the scene and no details of any of the Muslim men who had assaulted Pastor Moodley were taken on the day of the incident.
Members of the public intervened strongly to the police on Pastor Moodley’s behalf to say that he had done nothing wrong or hateful.
A Senior Inspector then arrived and told Pastor Moodley, contrary to what the other officers had said previously, that there was no chance he would be arrested.
Avon and Somerset Police’s past targeting of Pastor Moodley
In March of last year, Pastor Moodley was arrested after preaching about the differences between Christianity and Islam in Bristol, despite the fact that he was the victim of assault on that occasion.
He was arrested on suspicion of committing “racially or religiously aggravated harassment without violence” under Section 31(1)(c) of the Crime and Disorder Act 1998 and Section 5 of the Public Order Act 1986. He was held for 13 hours in a police cell.
This incident came after Avon and Somerset Police previously conceded restrictions they placed on Pastor Moodley, preventing him from “passing comments on any other religion” besides Christianity, were “disproportionate”, after these were challenged with the support of ADF International and Free Speech Union.
Images for free use in print or online in relation to this story only. Please credit ADF International.
The first three pictures are of Pastor Moodley’s arrest in March 2024, for peacefully preaching.
The sixth picture is of Pastor Moodley and Jeremiah Igunnubole, barrister and Legal Counsel for ADF International.
The last picture is of Lorcán Price, Irish barrister and Legal Counsel for ADF International.
LONDON – (20 June 2025) UK MPs today voted by a majority of 23 to legalise assisted suicide.
Reacting to this news, Robert Clarke, Director of Advocacy for ADF International, said:
“Today’s vote to approve the Leadbeater Bill on assisted suicide—314 to 291—is a grave and chilling development for the United Kingdom. Parliament has signaled its willingness to cross a dangerous moral line: allowing the intentional ending of life as a form of healthcare. When the state begins to endorse death as a solution to suffering, the most vulnerable—those who are elderly, disabled, depressed, or alone—will soon find themselves wondering if their lives are still worth living, or worse, if they’re expected to die.
“The consequences of this decision will echo far beyond the chamber walls. It opens the door to coercion, and to lives cut short out of fear, despair, or pressure. No safeguard can undo the message this bill sends: that some lives are no longer worth protecting. At every stage, support for the bill has dropped and this narrow vote underscores the growing concern with this deeply flawed bill.
“Parliament has fundamentally failed to protect the country from a descent into a culture of death. As the bill moves forward, we urge the House of Lords to listen to the voices of doctors, disability advocates, and families who know that real compassion means care, not killing. A society that values life must have the courage to say no to assisted suicide.”
Images for free use in print or online in relation to this story only.
Pictured: Robert Clarke
BOURNEMOUTH (4 April 2025) – The US State Department has denounced the conviction of retiree Livia Tossici-Bolt for offering consensual conversation in an abortion facility “buffer zone”.
The Bureau of Democracy, Human Rights, & Labor released the following comment on X: “We are disappointed with the UK court’s conviction of Livia Tossici-Bolt for violating a designated “buffer zone” at an abortion clinic. Freedom of expression must be protected for all.”
This comes in response to its comment on March 30 that it was “monitoring” the case, given that “U.S.-UK relations share a mutual respect for human rights and fundamental freedoms.”
“My conviction for offering consensual conversation has been very difficult, not only for me personally, but also because I care deeply about preserving freedom of expression in the UK. I am encouraged to know that the United States Department of State is following my case closely. I am grateful, and hope this encourages this country to take a close look at what it means to convict someone for nothing more than offering conversation,” responded Livia Tossici-Bolt.
“The United States Department of State put the UK on notice earlier this week when it highlighted Livia’s case. We are grateful for the awareness this has generated regarding the egregious failure of justice that is her conviction for offering consensual conversation. The State Department has every reason to be disappointed by the verdict. Her conviction is a loss for everyone committed to the protection of fundamental freedoms. If the special relationship is to mean anything, it has to be a relationship where each side can challenge the other,” stated Robert Clarke, ADF International Director of Advocacy, in response to the comment from the bureau.
Images for free use in print or online in relation to this story only.
Pictured: Livia Tossici-Bolt and Jeremiah Igunnubole (barrister and Legal Counsel, ADF International).
You are currently viewing a placeholder content from YouTube. To access the actual content, click the button below. Please note that doing so will share data with third-party providers.
More InformationYou need to load content from reCAPTCHA to submit the form. Please note that doing so will share data with third-party providers.
More InformationYou are currently viewing a placeholder content from Facebook. To access the actual content, click the button below. Please note that doing so will share data with third-party providers.
More InformationYou need to load content from reCAPTCHA to submit the form. Please note that doing so will share data with third-party providers.
More InformationYou are currently viewing a placeholder content from X. To access the actual content, click the button below. Please note that doing so will share data with third-party providers.
More Information
