Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole (BCP) council spent nearly £150,000 prosecuting a man and woman who allegedly participated in pro-life activity in a buffer zone in its local authority.
BCP council spent £93,000 taking Adam Smith-Connor to court last October after he prayed in silence for his dead son within a “buffer zone” imposed around a BPAS abortion facility in Bournemouth.
Smith-Connor, an Afghanistan veteran, was found guilty and fined £9,000, though he is set to appeal the verdict later this year.
US Vice-President JD Vance highlighted the case during his Munich Security Conference speech. “In Britain, and across Europe, free speech I fear is in retreat”, said Vance. “The backslide away from conscience rights has placed the basic liberties of religious Britons, in particular, in the crosshairs.”
£45,000 was also spent on the two-day trial of Livia Tossici-Bolt last week after she was arrested for offering conversations to women in crisis pregnancies outside the same abortion facility in Bournemouth in March 2023.
Tossici-Bolt held a sign that read, “Here to talk, if you want to”, which led to her being charged for allegedly breaching the local Public Spaces Protection Order (PSPO).
“There’s nothing wrong with two adults engaging in a consensual conversation on the street. I shouldn’t be treated like a criminal just for this”, she said.
A verdict in the Tossici-Bolt trial is expected on 4 April.
Commenting on the two cases, a BCP council spokesman said: “In light of the previous high court judicial review brought against the PSPO, and the engagement of counsel, it was necessary for the council to employ a barrister for these cases.”
BCP council is reportedly “facing significant financial pressure”, having faced a £44 million funding gap last year. In 2023, the council considered cost-cutting measures such as cutting library opening hours, sacking lollipop men and women, and switching off street lamps.
Buffer zones are now in force across the UK. Numerous pro-life activists and Christians have been arrested and, in some cases, found guilty.
In England and Wales, buffer zones of 150m are now in force. While Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) guidance states that silent prayer is “not necessarily” criminal, any actions inside buffer zones that “influence” women – whether that influence is approving or disapproving of abortion – are outlawed.
Last month, an elderly grandmother became the person to be arrested and charged for allegedly breaching the Scottish buffer zones law, holding a sign that read, “Coercion is a crime, here to talk, only if you want.”
A Christian woman in Northern Ireland was found guilty of kneeling in prayer inside a buffer zone.
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