BREAKING: Christian woman pleads “not guilty” to fresh charges for standing and silent prayer, arguing that prosecution amounts to “abuse of process”
- Charity volunteer Isabel Vaughan-Spruce pleads not guilty to fresh charges during preliminary hearing at Birmingham Magistrates’ Court, with criminal trial set for 25-29 January 2027
- Ms Vaughan-Spruce was previously cleared in court and received a payout from police after being unjustly arrested twice for her silent prayers, but was criminally charged again in December 2025
- Supported by Alliance Defending Freedom, Ms Vaughan-Spruce’s defence argues that her human rights have been breached and the prosecution is an abuse of process
BIRMINGHAM (7 October 2026) – A Christian woman criminally charged for standing and silently praying outside an abortion facility in Birmingham has pleaded “not guilty” to fresh charges presented during a preliminary hearing.
Charity volunteer Isabel Vaughan-Spruce, who was charged last December after praying silently outside an abortion facility, pleaded “not guilty” in January 2026. A preliminary hearing for the case at Birmingham Magistrates’ Court is currently in session from 6-9 October.
Ms Vaughan-Spruce was the first person to have been criminally charged under national “buffer zone” legislation, which came into force in October 2024 and prohibits “influencing any person’s decision to access, provide or facilitate the provision of abortion services” within 150m of abortion facilities.
Ms Vaughan-Spruce’s legal team argues that her prosecution is incompatible with her fundamental human rights, particularly freedom of thought and religion as stated in Articles 9 and 14 of the European Convention on Human Rights.
Her legal team also argues that Ms Vaughan-Spruce has been “singled out”, and that the prosecution’s case is such that if Ms Vaughan-Spruce were not known to hold pro-life beliefs, her presence within the “buffer zone” would not have been considered an offence; noting that this amounts to discrimination and a violation of Ms Vaughan-Spruce’s Article 14 rights.
Ms Vaughan-Spruce’s legal team further argue that silent prayer and mere presence fall outside the scope of national “buffer zone” legislation, which was not intended by Parliament to criminalise conduct of this kind, and cannot interfere with the absolute rights to freedom of thought and to hold a particular religious belief.
On the first day of the three-day abuse of process hearing, Judge Tan Ikram noted that the legislation requires an “act” to be committed within the buffer zone, indicating that the current charge was “not properly drafted” and that “the prosecution bear the burden to make it clear.”
The judge also commented: “This case is not about abortion rights; it is about a criminal offence which Parliament has defined… Courts are not here to pass judgment on people’s views.”
On the second day of the hearing, Judge Ikram permitted the prosecution to bring five fresh charges against Ms Vaughan-Spruce – one for each occasion that she stood and prayed silently within the “buffer zone” – instead of the previous improperly drafted charges.
Judge Ikram further noted that “standing is not a crime… It doesn’t matter how many times you do it, mere presence is not enough”, and that the focus should be on whether Ms Vaughan-Spruce had the requisite intent to influence or harass others.
Ms Vaughan-Spruce has pleaded “not guilty” to all the new charges.
“Standing silently and holding certain beliefs in a public space should never be a crime. Yet, despite being vindicated of wrongdoing on multiple occasions and receiving a financial settlement after two wrongful arrests, I was once again charged last year for my mere presence within a “buffer zone”, and have today received fresh charges. I am deeply troubled by this violation of the basic right to my own thoughts and to my deeply-held Christian pro-life convictions. I pray that common sense and freedom will prevail, so that no one else has to face criminal treatment for what they believe.“
— Isabel Vaughan-Spruce
Jeremiah Igunnubole, barrister and legal counsel for Alliance Defending Freedom in London, said:
“To criminally charge someone simply for holding a certain belief within a certain location amounts to thought policing, which has no place in a democratic society.
“Far from criminalising harassment and abusive behaviour – which are already criminal offences – buffer zones are being used to punish those engaged in peaceful conduct for nothing other than what they think or believe.
“This censorial, over-broad law has shown itself to be deeply flawed, liable to misuse along ideological lines, and harmful to basic freedoms. If simply thinking the ‘wrong’ thing can result in criminal prosecution, the UK can no longer call itself a free country. Alliance Defending Freedom will continue to stand firm in our defence of every person’s fundamental right to their own thoughts and beliefs.”
Background
This is the second time Ms Vaughan-Spruce has been prosecuted for silently praying.
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 the prosecution, and Ms Vaughan-Spruce was formally acquitted by the Court.
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 18 March 2025, West Midlands Police informed Ms Vaughan-Spruce that she was under investigation for praying silently near an abortion facility on 27 January 2025, as well as on several other subsequent dates.
Ms Vaughan-Spruce has been peacefully praying in the same public area on a regular basis for two decades.
With support from Alliance Defending Freedom, Ms Vaughan-Spruce sent numerous requests for clarification in the following 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 [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.”
On 7 October, the second day of her preliminary hearing, Judge Ikram permitted the prosecution to bring five fresh charges against Ms Vaughan-Spruce – one for each occasion that she stood and prayed silently within the “buffer zone” – instead of the previous improperly drafted charges.
Ms Vaughan-Spruce has pleaded “not guilty” to all the new charges.
