Christians face trial for criticising Islam
The Christian owners of a hotel are being prosecuted for a crime because they defended their faith and criticised Islam in a debate with a Muslim guest. Watch a CBN News report: Police arrested Ben and...
View ArticleTrial begins of Christians who criticised Islam
The criminal trial of a Christian couple charged with a public order offence for criticising Islam begins today. Watch a video report from the prayer rally Last night hundreds of Christians gathered to...
View ArticleVogelenzang trial enters second day
Two Christian hoteliers went on trial yesterday accused of a public order offence for criticising Islam, but the couple deny the allegations. Ben and Sharon Vogelenzang are attending Liverpool...
View ArticleBreaking news: judge says Vogelenzangs not guilty
Ben and Sharon Vogelenzang have been found entirely innocent of a religiously aggravated public order offence after a District Judge dismissed the case. The Vogelenzangs had been charged with the crime...
View ArticleCops arrest preacher over Christian beliefs
A Christian street preacher in Cumbria has been arrested and charged with a crime after he expressed his religious beliefs about homosexual conduct. Dale Mcalpine, of Workington in Cumbria, appeared...
View ArticleExclusive video: Preacher arrested by British police
Dramatic footage recorded with a hidden camera shows the moment that a Christian street preacher was arrested by police in Cumbria, England, for saying homosexual conduct is a “sin”. EXCLUSIVE: Arrest...
View ArticleChristians unfairly targeted for hate crime prosecutions
Christians in Britain are being unfairly targeted for hate crime prosecutions, according to a new report by the Civitas think-tank. The report, entitled A New Inquisition: Religious Persecution in...
View ArticleVideo: Vogelenzangs call for change to public order law
Christian hoteliers from Liverpool who were subjected to a criminal trial because of comments they made about Islam have called for a change to the law. Watch an interview with the Vogelenzangs Ben and...
View ArticleVideo: street preacher calls for public order law change
A Christian street preacher who was arrested for describing homosexual conduct as a sin has called for a change to the law. Watch an interview with Dale Mcalpine EXCLUSIVE: Arrest caught on camera Dale...
View ArticleVideo: Christian pensioners call for action on Section 5
Two Christian pensioners who were interrogated by police officers because they disagreed with their council’s promotion of homosexuality have called for a change to the public order law. Watch an...
View ArticleVideo: Now a barrister calls for action on Section 5
The police will still be able to deal with genuine public disorder even if the word ‘insulting’ is repealed from Section 5 of the Public Order Act, a former senior prosecutor says. Watch an interview...
View ArticleAmend Public Order Act for the sake of free speech
Writing on one of Britain’s leading politics blogs, The Christian Institute’s Mike Judge calls for the Public Order Act to be amended so that it cannot be misused to interfere with free speech. He...
View ArticleBirmingham street preacher wins wrongful arrest case
An autistic Christian street preacher who was handcuffed and arrested for speaking out against homosexuality and many other sins has been awarded £4,250 in damages following a court case against West...
View ArticleCumbria Police payout for arrest of Christian
In a second similar case in recent days, a Christian street preacher has won £7,000 plus costs from Cumbria Police in settlement for a claim of wrongful arrest, unlawful imprisonment and breach of his...
View ArticlePolice service launches new ‘hate crime’ website
West Midlands Police and the Association of Chief Police Officers have joined forces to launch a controversial new website which aims to increase the reporting of so-called ‘hate crimes’. However, the...
View ArticleIslamic protestors lose appeal over troop abuse
Five Muslim protestors have lost an appeal against their conviction for shouting abuse and hatred at British soldiers returning from Afghanistan. The ruling has been widely welcomed as a common sense...
View ArticleAmend Section 5 to protect freedom of speech, MPs say
The Government must reform the Public Order Act to protect freedom of speech, MPs have warned during a debate in Parliament. The urgent calls came during yesterday’s Second Reading of the Protection of...
View ArticleFuneral picketers can’t be sued, says US court
Sickening protests at the funerals of American soldiers are protected by America’s First Amendment right to free speech, the US Supreme Court has ruled. America’s top court said the protesters could...
View ArticleCross-party support for free speech amendment
Prominent MPs have signed an amendment to improve the law on free speech – offering more protection for Christian street preachers. The amendment would remove the word “insulting” from Section 5 of the...
View ArticleSecularist campaigner backs free speech amendment
An amendment to improve the law on free speech has been welcomed as “common sense” by a leading secular campaigner. Terry Sanderson, President of the National Secular Society (NSS), has lent his...
View ArticleGive MPs freedom to debate free speech, says Tory MP
Freedom of speech is one of our most precious civil liberties and we must protect it, a Conservative MP has said as MPs are blocked from debating the issue in Parliament. Edward Leigh MP made the...
View ArticleGovt to look at changing troublesome Section 5
The Government last night said it would consult on changing the problematic Public Order Act, after pressure from MPs. Over 40 Conservative and Liberal Democrat MPs rebelled against the Government,...
View ArticleHome Office launches ‘Section 5’ consultation
The Home Office has today opened a public consultation on public order policing – including whether ‘insulting’ words or behaviour should continue to be a crime. Section 5 of the Public Order Act...
View ArticleMedia misled that ‘poppy burners’ will escape arrest
The media has been misled into believing that troublemakers who burn poppies on Remembrance Sunday could escape arrest if using “insulting” words or behaviour is no longer a crime. But former Director...
View ArticleMPs speak out on Christian café case
MPs have spoken of their “concern” about a case involving a Christian who was wrongly told displaying Bible verses on a TV screen was a breach of public order laws.
View ArticleSection 5 needs changing quickly, says Lib Dem MP
A law that “encroaches on the fundamental right to free speech” should be “changed as quickly as possible”, a Liberal Democrat MP has said. Julian Huppert, speaking about Section 5 of the Public Order...
View ArticleWarning on free speech as Peers discuss Section 5
Freedom of speech is being hampered by public order legislation, a Peer warned in the House of Lords on Tuesday. Lord Dear, a former HM Inspector of Constabulary, made the comments as Peers debated the...
View ArticleSection 5 amendment needed to ‘roll back’ offence culture
The Public Order Act must be reformed because of its “corrosive” effect on free speech, according to a senior figure at a civil liberties organisation. Mike Harris, head of advocacy at Index on...
View ArticlePressure on Home Secretary to improve free speech law
The Christian Institute is joining with the National Secular Society, the Peter Tatchell Foundation, and others to call for reform of free speech laws. The new campaign group – Reform Section 5 – wants...
View ArticleRemove ‘insult’ from public order law, says former DPP
Former Director of Public Prosecutions Lord Macdonald QC has thrown his weight behind a campaign to amend Section 5 of the Public Order Act. Listen to Lord Macdonald’s comments Reform Section 5, a new...
View ArticlePublic Order Act hampering freedom, says Guardian writer
A Guardian columnist says a law which is interfering with free speech should be changed for the sake of freedom and British values. Timothy Garton Ash criticised the Public Order Act as he laid out...
View ArticleClegg agrees ‘insult law’ needs reforming
A law that criminalises ‘insults’ needs reforming for the sake of free speech, Deputy Prime Minister Nick Clegg has said. His support for reforming Section 5 of the Public Order Act comes ahead of...
View Article‘Insult’ law stifles freedom, says Telegraph writer
A law that criminalises “insults” needs to be reformed, a Daily Telegraph commentator has said. Cristina Odone believes that Section 5 of the Public Order Act “leaves too much room for personal...
View ArticleRowan Atkinson backs reform of ‘insult’ law
Comedy star Rowan Atkinson has given his full support to a Christian Institute-led campaign which aims to reform a controversial ‘insults’ law. Speaking on Tuesday Mr Atkinson cautioned against “a new...
View ArticleEquality group: Reform of ‘insult’ law is vital
The reform of a law which criminalises “insulting” words or behaviour is “vital to protect free speech”, the chairman of the Equality and Human Rights Commission has said. Baroness Onora O’Neill’s...
View ArticlePeers to vote on ‘insult’ law this week
The House of Lords will vote on Wednesday on reforming a controversial law that criminalises “insulting” words or behaviour, as pressure mounts on the Government to act. Peers will debate and vote on...
View ArticleChief Prosecutor says it’s safe to scrap controversial insult law
The chief prosecutor in England and Wales says it is safe to reform a law which criminalises insulting words and behaviour, ahead of a vote on the issue today. The House of Lords are voting on an...
View ArticleBreaking news: Peers vote to reform ‘insult’ law
The House of Lords has tonight voted to reform a controversial law that criminalises “insulting” words or behaviour. Peers voted by 150 to 54 in favour of an amendment to remove the word “insulting”...
View ArticleTelegraph urges Govt to drop controversial ‘insult’ law
The Daily Telegraph has used its editorial to urge the Government to drop a controversial law that criminalises “insulting” words or behaviour. It comes after the House of Lords voted overwhelmingly to...
View ArticleGovt faces defeat over ‘insult’ law, according to new poll
MPs favour a proposed change to remove a controversial law that criminalises “insulting” words or behaviour, according to a new poll. A majority of both Conservative and Liberal Democrats – 79 per cent...
View ArticleVictory! Public order law reformed for free speech
The Government gave way tonight, and agreed to reform Section 5 of the Public Order Act to give more protection to free speech. Campaign group Reform Section 5 (RS5) has been pushing for the change,...
View ArticleMPs confirm public order law reform in free speech victory
MPs have today confirmed that a controversial public order law that criminalises “insulting” words or behaviour will be reformed to give greater freedom of speech. The move follows the Government...
View ArticleFree speech reform gets Royal Assent
A free speech reform to the public order law has cleared Parliament and achieved royal assent today. The word “insulting” has been deleted from Section 5 of the Public Order Act, still leaving police...
View ArticleReform to ‘insult’ law will come into force in February
A free speech reform backed by The Christian Institute is to become law on 1 February next year. From that date police will no longer be able to use Section 5 of the Public Order Act to arrest people...
View ArticlePolice issue new guidance on reform to ‘insult’ law
Police officers will be told they are no longer able to arrest people just because others might find their words or behaviour “insulting”, in new guidance issued by the College of Policing. Last year...
View Article
