Isabel Vaughan-Spruce and Father Sean Gough have been found “not guilty” after being tried at a Birmingham Magistrates’ Court for the “crime” of praying silently outside an abortion facility.

Isabel Vaughan-Spruce, the UK director of March for Life, was arrested and taken into custody last year after silently praying near a BPAS abortion facility in Birmingham, England. The arrest took place on 6 December.

The arrest caused shock and outrage. SPUC stated at the time that her arrest “a clear violation of freedom of speech, including the right to religious expression”.

SPUC has helped supporters and other pro-lifers and advocates of free speech send messages of solidarity to Ms Vaughan-Spruce, who received over a thousand communications from well-wishers.

Father Sean Gough was also arrested in similar circumstances outside the same Birmingham abortion facility. Despite praying silently for free speech to prevail, at a time when the facility was closed, he was still charged with “intimidating service-users” of the facility.

The vicinity around the BPAS facility has been subject to a Public Spaces Protection Order (PSPO), or “buffer zone”, since November 2022, outlawing pro-life activity and even prayer.

Vaughan-Spruce “vindicated”

Following her acquittal, Ms Vaughan-Spruce said: “I’m glad I’ve been vindicated of any wrongdoing. But I should never have been arrested for my thoughts and treated like a criminal simply for silently praying on a public street.

“When it comes to censorship zones, peaceful prayer and attempts to offer help to women in crisis pregnancies are now being described as either ‘criminal’ or ‘anti-social’. But what is profoundly anti-social are the steps now being taken to censor freedom of speech, freedom to offer help, freedom to pray and even freedom to think. We must stand firm against this and ensure that these most fundamental freedoms are protected, and that all our laws reflect this.”

In October, a senior Home Office minister was forced to admit that the Government was “unable” to say that the imposition of buffer zones in England and Wales is “presently compatible” with the European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR).

An ECHR memorandum also stated that buffer zones may violate various ECHR articles, including the right to freedom of thought, conscience and religion (article 9), the right to freedom of expression (article 10) and the right to freedom of peaceful assembly and to freedom of association with others (article 11).

“A significant victory – but we must not be complacent”

SPUC’s Michael Robinson, SPUC Executive Director (Public Affairs and Legal Services), said: “The acquittal of Isabel and Fr Gough is a significant victory – but we must not be complacent. Thoughtcrime in the UK remains a terrifying prospect that must be opposed and rejected once and for all.

“Clause 9 of the Public Order Bill, currently being debated in Parliament, threatens to rob British citizens of their hard-won rights to speech free and religious expression. Buffer zones are inherently authoritarian, even seeking to outlaw silent prayer within the confines of an individual’s head.

“While it is absurd that such an inoffensive, peaceful and prayerful person as Isabel was arrested and put on trial, this nevertheless happened in the UK, where persecution of pro-lifers and religion has now become the order of the day.

“Such persecution is unacceptable and a breach of human rights. The Government must act with immediate effect to protect the right to free speech of all its citizens.”