Smile.

High Court overturns conviction of Christian man who emailed abortion images to police.

Veteran pro‑life campaigner David Skinner (Photo: Boostmediamarketing.co.uk)

A High Court judge has overturned the conviction of a pro-life campaigner who sent graphic images of abortion to the police and local officials.

David Skinner, 80, was convicted under communications legislation for sending an email containing what the Crown Prosecution Service deemed to be grossly offensive images that were intended to cause distress.

The images were emailed by Mr Skinner, a committed Christian, to senior police officers and local councillors in Dorset in April 2023. They were emailed in response to the introduction of an abortion clinic buffer zone in the town the previous year. 

The email contained graphic images of aborted foetuses and other images of the Holocaust, as well as strongly worded objections to the buffer zone and the policing of it. 

Mr Skinner was charged under communications legislation and convicted and fined £3,840. He appealed his conviction and in a judgment handed down on Friday in Bournemouth, Mr Justice Saini ruled that upholding the offence would disproportionately interfere with his rights to freedom of expression and religion.

“This is a case about freedom of expression and freedom of religion,” the judge said.

He added, “We do not take away from the offence that the complainants would have experienced on receiving the letter. Nevertheless, we find that it would not be a proportionate interference to allow the conviction.”

Skinner’s conviction was quashed and a defence costs order granted.

In a statement, Skinner said he was “deeply grateful” for the ruling, adding that his intention was not to cause distress but to raise “matters of profound moral and public importance".

"This prosecution should never have been brought. It has taken a heavy toll on me, but I hope this ruling will protect others who wish to speak out peacefully on matters of conscience without fear of being criminalised," he said. 

The case was backed by the Christian Legal Centre, which said the decision set an important precedent for protecting religious and political speech. 

Andrea Williams, chief executive of the Christian Legal Centre, said the judge's ruling was "vital and principled".

"The High Court has confirmed that even where speech is confronting or deeply uncomfortable, the criminal law cannot be used as a shortcut to silence lawful expression on matters of public interest," she said. 

“David Skinner was targeted for expressing sincerely held Christian beliefs to public authorities about abortion and buffer zones. Today’s judgment reasserts that in a free and democratic society, the answer to speech we dislike is more debate, not criminal prosecution.

“This case should act as a warning to police and prosecutors against misusing communications laws to chill political or religious speech. David’s ordeal lasted far too long, and we hope this judgment will prevent similar injustices in future.”

God's Will.

 

Birdie.

 

44 Years of Service.

 Missionary behind milestone Paraguay Bible translation to retire after 44 years of service

A missionary whose work helped bring the Bible to indigenous communities in Paraguay’s remote Chaco region is retiring after 44 years of ministry and translation work.

Preacher Prosecuted.

Anxious wait for pastor prosecuted for preaching outside hospital.

Clive Johnston outside court. (Photo: The Christian Institute)

A retired pastor who was prosecuted after preaching a sermon outside a hospital in Northern Ireland faces an anxious wait to find out the verdict in his case. 

Pastor Clive Johnston had a court hearing on Wednesday - the original hearing was postponed from last December - after which the judge reserved judgment in his case until 7 May. 

He was prosecuted in connection with an open-air sermon on John 3:16 that he preached within a 'safe access zone' outside Coleraine’s Causeway Hospital, in Northern Ireland, in 2024. 

He was charged with attempting to 'influence' people seeking to access the hospital's abortion services despite the sermon being preached on a Sunday when the clinic was closed. He also did not mention abortion during his sermon, and he did not display any banners or placards on the topic. 

An exchange with police officers captured on video showed them telling the pastor he should share the gospel in a "safe" place like the hospital chaplaincy and not inside the 'safe access zone'.

Pastor Johnston is being supported by The Christian Institute, which called his prosecution a “shocking” attack on freedom of speech and religion.

Following Wednesday's hearing at Coleraine Magistrates’ Court, Pastor Johnston said: “I’m glad the judge has decided to go away and have a think about this case before issuing his ruling because there is a lot at stake.

“We held a small, open-air Sunday service near a hospital. We made no reference whatsoever to the issue of abortion. And yet prosecutors say the buffer-zones law is so broad that holding our Sunday service was a criminal offence." 

He added, “It’s a difficult thing to go through but we are upheld by the prayers of God’s people and we have drawn near to Christ for help and strength. Christ is the most precious thing in the world to us and that is why we are so keen to talk about him in the highways and byways of this land that we love.”

The case has caught the attention of the US State Department which last week called it "concerning" and said that it was “monitoring” developments.

A US spokesman told The Daily Telegraph: “The United States is still monitoring many buffer zone cases in the UK, as well as other acts of censorship throughout Europe.”

Referring to the case of Isabel Vaughan-Spruce, the spokesman added: “The UK’s persecution of silent prayer represents not only an egregious violation of the fundamental right to free speech and religious liberty, but also a concerning departure from the shared values that ought to underpin US-UK relations.”

Isabel Vaughan-Spruce appears in court over silent prayer in abortion zone Staff writer Vaughan-Spruce is the first person to be charged under the new legislation.

Calls to EU to move beyond words as Syria’s Christians face escalating violence.

Calls to EU to move beyond words as Syria’s Christians face escalating violence.

Calls to EU to move beyond words as Syria’s Christians face escalating v... Obianuju Mbah Fresh criticism is being directed at European leaders over what campaigners describe as a failure to take meanin...

Fresh criticism is being directed at European leaders over what campaigners describe as a failure to take meaningful action to protect Syria’s Christian communities amid renewed sectarian violence and reports of incessant persecution.

Petition Alert.

“How then will they call on him in whom they have not believed? And how are they to believe in him of whom they have never heard? And how are they to hear without someone preaching?” Romans 10:14 ESV

Around the country, the Christian message is being increasingly silenced in public spaces.

The latest example – and perhaps the most dangerous yet – is in Colchester.

The Times report that Bread of Life Community Church from Colchester has been issued with a Community Protection Notice (CPN) that could criminalise its pastor and members for preaching in the city centre.

Nigel Deserves A Chance To Lead ...

 ... our broken nation.

Let us begin that process with council elections.

George and His Flag.

The backstory to St George and his flag.

The backstory to St George and his flag Neil Rees 23 April marks St George’s Day, which often passes unnoticed. But who was St George and why is he England's patr...

https://www.christiantoday.com/news/the-backstory-to-st-george-and-his-flag

Birdie.

Super News!

Historic': Human rights groups praise passage of landmark law banning child marriage in Punjab.

'Historic': Human rights groups praise passage of landmark law banning c... The Punjab Province Assembly in Pakistan on Monday passed a landmark bill aimed at curbing child marriage follow...

The Punjab Province Assembly in Pakistan on Monday passed a landmark bill aimed at curbing child marriage following a heated debate between government and opposition lawmakers.

Bible Reading.

 

What Nick Actually Said. Unarguable, I Would Have Thought.

“Too many are too polite to say this.

But mass ritual prayer in public places is an act of domination.

The adhan – which declares there is no god but allah and Muhammad is his messenger – is, when called in a public place, a declaration of domination.

Perform these rituals in mosques if you wish. But they are not welcome in our public places and shared institutions.

And given their explicit repudiation of Christianity they certainly do not belong in our churches and cathedrals.

I am not suggesting everybody at Trafalgar Square last night is an Islamist. But the domination of public places is straight from the Islamist playbook.

Trafalgar Square belongs to all of us. It is a national memorial to our independence and our salvation.

Last night was not like a televised football match or a St Patrick’s Day celebration.

It was an act of domination and therefore division.

It shouldn’t happen again.”

REFORM - Good News For Believers!

Reform will be 'far friendlier' to Christians than other parties if it wins office.

 (Photo: X)

A Reform government would be “far friendlier” to Christians in Britain because Nigel Farage “really believes it”, a key figure in the party has claimed.

James Orr, a philosopher, theologian and, more recently, Reform UK’s head of policy, made the comments during an interview with The Telegraph.

At once a dream of supporters and a nightmare of opponents, the prospect of a Nigel Farage premiership has become a very real one. For over a year Reform UK has dominated opinion polls and while support has declined in the last six months, the party maintains a strong lead over all of the other parties.

Farage has previously identified himself as a member of the Church of England, albeit one who is at odds with the church leadership and does not regularly attend church.

Orr said of Farage’s faith, “He’s got a kind of grounded Christianity … His fondness for Christianity, or Judeo-Christianity as he calls it, comes from a sense that it belongs to the nation that he loves.”

Pushing back, The Telegraph’s Tim Stanley, a Catholic, said this form of Christianity sounded like “English Shinto”, referring to the religious cult surrounding the Japanese Emperor.

The term “English Shinto” has been promoted and was possibly coined by the historian David Starkey. Starkey, an atheist who is also close to Farage and Reform, despite being a member of the Conservative Party, has spoken positively of the Church of England’s role as a national unifier.

In 2012 he told the Guardian that prior to Michael Ramsey becoming Archbishop of Canterbury in 1961, “the archbishops had been the high priests of English Shinto: in other words, the church's job was really just to [enable us to] worship the monarchy and, by extension, ourselves. That was sensible. But then it gets cluttered up with all this nonsense about Christianity."

Orr, whose wife is a vicar, described his own faith in similar terms that Farage has used in the past, saying of his Anglicanism, “[I’m] hanging on by my fingernails. Imperfectly practising. I practise when I can … It’s very difficult for me to go to church on a Sunday.”

Of Farage’s personal faith, Orr said, “I don’t think I’ve ever spoken to him about religion … but if you are a Christian, Reform is going to be far friendlier to you than the other parties.”

Farage, he said, is “not just giving lip service to it".

"He really believes it," Orr said, although he struggles with the “leftward, progresive turn that he identifies in the … leadership of the Church of England, which he deeply regrets”.

CT.

Faith.

 26) So in Christ Jesus you are all children of God through faith, 27) for all of you who were baptized into Christ have clothed yourselves with Christ. 28) There is neither Jew nor Gentile, neither slave nor free, nor is there male and female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus. 29) If you belong to Christ, then you are Abraham’s seed, and heirs according to the promise.

TYPICAL.

Council of Europe criticised over inadequate response to anti-Christian incidents.

Council of Europe criticised over inadequate response to anti-Christian ... Staff writer "There are mechanisms to combat anti-Semitism and Islamophobia, but nothing concerning Christians."

"There are mechanisms to combat anti-Semitism and Islamophobia, but nothing concerning Christians."

CT.

Birdie.

 

Don't Forget To Vote.

 Only one party has earned your vote.

                                                   

American Civil War General.

 

Love.

 

This Blogger Does Not Approve of Murdering Innocents.

'Sad moment' as abortion up to birth becomes the law of the land.

A “public education display” on abortion outside Parliament by pro-life group CBR UK. (Photo: CBR UK)

The Society for the Protection of Unborn Children (SPUC) has described the proroguing of Parliament as both a “sad moment” and “a great victory”, referring to the effective legalisation of abortion up to birth at the same time as the failure of a law that would legalise medically assisted suicide.

The passage of the Crime and Policing Bill means, among other things, that women who abort their babies beyond the legal limit of 24 weeks will face no criminal sanction.

As the 24-week limit remains in place, doctors can only legally provide an abortion up to that point. However, should a woman take things into her own hands after this point using the pills-by-post service, she will face no penalty.

On the passage of the law, SPUC said in a statement, “This is a sad moment. There is now no law in England and Wales under which a woman can be prosecuted for ending her own pregnancy, whatever the time, and whatever the reason.”

The news was also lamented by Isabel Vaughan-Spruce, the Director of March For Life UK, "Yesterday the Crime and Policing Bill quietly received Royal Assent, meaning preborn children are now not even protected from their own mothers. A dark day in our history just slipped by - women can abort their child right up to birth in their home with no criminal consequence."

Despite this, SPUC said it would be running a “Fightback” campaign when the next parliamentary session begins in May. CT.

What A DISGRACE!

Green candidate suggested Israel was behind October 7 attacks.

Joe Belcher, who was suspended by the party in 2024 over his comments, has been allowed to stand for the Rushall-Shelfield seat in Walsall at the local elections.