UK Home Secretary is commended for stating that “Silent Prayer in UK is NOT illegal.”
So, Is silent prayer illegal in UK?
A group that supports religious freedom in the United Kingdom, Alliance Defending Freedom (ADF), has expressed gladness that the Home Secretary, Suella Braverman seems to support the rights of people who wish to pray outside abortion hospitals.
Braverman has written to police chiefs to try to avoid arguments about a number of different issues.
So-called “buffer zones” near abortion clinics are one of the things that have caused a lot of controversy recently. Local laws make it illegal for pro-life activists to pray or do anything else that might be seen as harassment by someone who is thinking about having an abortion.
In both Birmingham and Bournemouth, there have been a number of arrests of people who don’t agree with the laws.
In a message to police chiefs, Braverman wrote: “Silent prayer in UK, within itself, is not unlawful.”
Responding on behalf of ADF UK, Jeremiah Igunnubole said: “The government’s focus on restoring common sense to British policing is welcome and long overdue.
“Too often, of late, arrests have been justified by reference to subjective notions of offense rather than an objective application of the law. Politized policing seriously threatens democracy, which relies on the right to freedom of speech and a free and frank exchange of viewpoints to be effectively realized.”
Meanwhile, Laws that could create buffer zones across the UK are progressing in Holyrood and Westminster. In March, lawmakers voted against an amendment that would explicitly protect prayer and offers of charitable support for vulnerable women.