Law and religion round-up – 15th January

Public Space Prevention Orders

Readers may recall that police in Birmingham charged Isabel Vaughan-Spruce with four counts of failing to comply with a Public Space Protection Order in violation of a “buffer zone” around the British Pregnancy Advisory Service’s Robert Clinic in Kings Norton. She stood outside the clinic and may (or may not) have been praying silently. She is due to appear at Birmingham Magistrates Court on 2 February.

In response to a written question from Lord Pearson of Rannoch about her arrest and subsequent charging, and “what steps HMG intends to take to ensure that the rights of (1) freedom of religion, and (2) freedom of thought, are upheld”, Lord Sharpe of Epsom replied on behalf of the Home Office as follows: Continue reading