A woman arrested twice for silently praying outside an abortion clinic has received a £13,000 payout in acknowledgement of her unjust treatment.
Isabel Vaughan-Spruce, with the support of legal advocacy group Alliance Defending Freedom (ADF) UK, made a claim against West Midlands Police for two wrongful arrests and false imprisonments; assault and battery in relation to an intrusive search of her person; and for a breach of her human rights both in respect to the arrests, and to the onerous bail conditions imposed on her.
Isabel said “Silent prayer is not a crime. Nobody should be arrested merely for the thoughts they have in their heads – yet this happened to me twice at the hands of the West Midlands Police, who explicitly told me that “prayer is an offence”.
“There is no place for Orwell’s ‘thought police’ in 21st Century Britain, and thanks to legal support I received from ADF UK, I’m delighted that the settlement that I have received today acknowledges that. Yet despite this victory, I am deeply concerned that this violation could be repeated at the hands of other police forces”.
Commenting on Isabel’s outcome, Lord Frost, senior Conservative peer and former cabinet minister, said “It is incredible that people have been arrested for thoughtcrime in modern Britain. I am very glad Ms Vaughan-Spruce has received compensation for her unjust arrest for this so-called offence”.
Arrested twice for praying in her own mind
Isabel was first arrested in November 2022 after she told police she “might” be silently praying whilst she was standing on a public street near an abortion clinic in Birmingham. She had no signs or outward expression of political views of any kind. She was in complete silence. Police officers, who had received a complaint from an onlooker, approached her and began to ask her what she was doing.
She was searched, arrested and then interrogated. Police showed her pictures of herself standing near the clinic and asked her if she was praying. Isabel said she “might” have been praying but could not recall if she was praying at these specific moments, or whether she was thinking about something else, such as her lunch.
Even though she was acquitted of all charges in February 2023, she was arrested again, just weeks later for allegedly breaching a Public Space Protection Order (PSPO), which bans protests outside abortion clinics within a designated area.
In a video posted online by ADF UK, a police officer asked Isabel, who is standing still with her hands in her pockets, if she will move outside the PSPO.
In response, she says “But I’m not protesting. I’m not engaging in any of the activities that are prohibited…”
The officer replied“But you’ve said you’re engaging in prayer, which is the offence”. Isabel then tells the officer that it is silent prayer, which he says is “still an offence”.
In September last year, West Midlands Police issued an apology to Isabel and confirmed that they would not be bringing charges against her.
While Isabel has received an apology and compensation for her treatment at the hands of the police, two other members of the public are set to face trial for alleged offences in locally imposed buffer zones. A military veteran, Adam Smith-Connor who prayed silently about his own encounter with abortion near a facility in Bournemouth is expected to face trial at Poole Magistrates’ Court. A pensioner from Dorset, Livia Tossici-Bolt, is also being prosecuted for holding up a sign within an abortion clinic buffer zone reading “Here to talk if you want”.
Spokesperson for Right To Life UK, Catherine Robinson, said “While it remains a grave injustice that Isabel was dragged through this process at all, it must be a great relief that she has finally received compensation. Hopefully, this case will set a precedent and prevent unlawful arrests of those supporting women outside abortion clinics in the future”.
