Left image – Wikimedia Commons: Official portrait of Michael Gove crop 2
Former justice secretary Michael Gove, who assumed the position of Editor of The Spectator in October 2024, has backed the “fundamental” British right to silent prayer outside abortion facilities around the UK.
Speaking recently on a podcast, Gove said that praying silently inside a buffer zone could not be considered “genuine intimidation”.
“It is wrong to say that someone cannot pray – silently – because you have a particular view on abortion”, Gove continued. “For me, free speech is as close to a fundamental principle as any. And so is freedom of worship… Freedom of conscience and freedom of religion are fundamental freedoms.”
Gove, who is Catholic, added that prayer is part of “the foundation of the country… I’m not saying that everyone should believe, but you can’t understand Britain without understanding our Judeo-Christian tradition.”
Several pro-life Christians have been arrested in recent months and years for breaching so-called “buffer zones”.
Last year, Adam Smith-Connor was found guilty of praying silently for his dead son near an abortion facility in Bournemouth. His case was mentioned by Vice-President JD Vance last month at the Munich Security Conference.
“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.”
Buffer zones imposed across the UK have outlawed all pro-life activity, leading to the arrests of Christians who pray silently near abortion facilities. Noted pro-life campaigner Isabel Vaughan-Spruce has been arrested repeatedly for praying in the vicinity of an abortion facility.
A government letter sent to Scottish residents inside buffer zones appeared to imply that silent prayer inside the home might also be illegal:
“Activities in a private place (such as a house) within the area between the protected premises and the boundary of a Zone could be an offence if they can be seen or heard within the Zone and are done intentionally or recklessly.”
MSP Gillian Mackay, who drew up the Scottish buffer zones law, later admitted that “performative” prayer inside a private home might break the law “depending on who passes the window”.
Buffer zones of 150m came into effect across England and Wales last year. While Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) guidance states that silent prayer is “not necessarily” criminal, it is illegal to “influence” women regarding a decision in favour of or against having an abortion.
In Scotland, buffer zones of up to 200m also came into force in 2024. This February, an elderly grandmother became the first person to be arrested and charged for allegedly breaching a Scottish buffer zone. She held a sign that read: “Coercion is a crime, here to talk, only if you want.”
In Northern Ireland, which also has buffer zones, a Christian woman named Claire Brennan was recently convicted on the charge of kneeling in prayer inside a buffer zone.
Before being found guilty and fined £750, Ms Brennan told the court that “they [the government] have made a law that prohibits my right to worship, to speak the gospel to these women, to speak truth to them that their baby is a precious gift from God”.
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