Explaining his appeal, Mr Smith-Connor said: “Surely a silent thought cannot be a crime… The government simply cannot be allowed to determine the content of thoughts and prayers.”
Last month, the Afghanistan veteran was convicted of breaching a so-called “buffer zone” around a BPAS abortion facility in Bournemouth. “All I did was pray to God”, he said after the ruling.
District Judge Orla Austin said his actions were “deliberate” after he bowed his head in silent prayer and clasped his hands, which the court said amounted to “disapproval of abortion”.
Mr Smith-Connor says he was praying for his dead son, called Jacob, who was killed by abortion over 20 years ago. The ex-soldier’s legal case is being supported by ADF UK.
Buffer zones came into force in England and Wales on 31 October. SPUC held a peaceful protest against the “Orwellian” law outside the Houses of Parliament on the same day.
The Crown Prosecution Service also released buffer zone guidance stating that silent prayer is “not necessarily” a crime.
SPUC’s Michael Robinson said SPUC is “consulting legal experts as we believe that the inclusion of silent prayer constitutes a gross intrusion in the right of freedom of religion, free speech and accordingly needs to be properly tested in the Courts”.
SPUC Comment
A SPUC spokesperson said: “31 October will go down in history as a day of shame in England and Wales as buffer zones imposed thoughtcrime on ordinary citizens, some of whom have already been convicted for praying in their heads.
“Far from protecting women, buffer zones deny them a true choice by preventing well-meaning citizens from offering help, advice and support to them in crisis pregnancies.
“But this draconian and illiberal law also undermines the hard-won freedoms and liberties of all British citizens, setting a dangerous precedent that the UK will come to bitterly regret.”
