It’s the first case in modern times of arrest and prosecution for praying.
Christian Hacking, 29, from London was arrested by police on the 8th August 2019 for allegedly failing to comply with a Public Spaces Protection Order (PSPO) outside of Marie Stopes abortion clinic on Mattock Lane in Ealing.
Hacking pleaded not guilty and was set to go on trial on 5th November 2019 at Uxbridge Magistrates Court. However, a letter was sent to him stating that the case would no longer be taken forward due to there being not “enough evidence to provide a realistic prospect of conviction,” according to Christian legal group Christian Concern.
Christian Concern has stated that the arrest and case, revealed by police body camera footage, raises the question of whether praying in a public space now constitutes harassment and whether buffer zones around abortion clinics breach freedom of expression, religion and thought.
On 8th August 2019, police were called after the Marie Stopes clinic reported that two men were breaking the PSPO by praying on the green directly outside of the clinic, rather than in the designated area for ‘protest’ located further down Mattock Lane.
Video footage from the police body camera reveals two police officers approaching Hacking, who can be seen sat on the grass next to his wheelchair with a friend. The police statement from the arrest…
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