Street preaching and human rights: Overd & Ors

In Overd & Ors v The Chief Constable of Avon and Somerset Constabulary [2021] EWHC 3100 (QB), the appellants, Michael Overd, Michael Stockwell Don Karns and Adrian Clark, four evangelical Christians, were arrested at Broadmead shopping centre in Bristol on 6 July 2016 after complaints from members of the public that their street preaching was racist and anti-Islamic and was causing a disturbance. Mr Overd was arrested on suspicion of an offence under s 50 Police Reform Act 2002 and the other three were arrested on suspicion of a racially-aggravated offence under s 5 Public Order Act 1986. They were detained before being released on bail and, ultimately, prosecuted under s 5 of the 1986 Act, but the prosecutions failed.

In the case of Mr Karns, the charges were dropped before they came to court. The other three were tried at Bristol Magistrates Court in February 2017. Mr Clark was found to have no case to answer. Mr Overd and Mr Stockwell were convicted, but their convictions were overturned on appeal [1-3].

All four then sued in the Bristol County Court alleging breaches of Articles 9, 10 and/or 11 ECHR, wrongful arrest, assault/trespass to the person/battery, false imprisonment, malicious prosecution and misfeasance in public office. HHJ Ralton dismissed all their claims, but they were subsequently given permission to appeal on a limited series of grounds [4-5]: Continue reading