Church successfully challenges London council’s street preaching ban

A Pentecostal church is celebrating a significant win for Christian freedoms after a London council backed down over a street preaching ban. 

The Kingsborough Centre, based in Uxbridge, north-west London, successfully challenged Hillingdon Council’s controversial Public Spaces Protection Order (PSPO).

PSPOs fall inside laws to cope with anti-social behaviour like drunkenness and drug abuse but Hillingdon Council’s laws made it a criminal offence to evangelise with amplification, distribute Christian leaflets, and display Bible verses on posters in Uxbridge town centre.

The council introduced the measures in August 2023 with a warning to locals that they could possibly be issued with a hard and fast penalty notice of £100 for non-compliance.

The Christian Legal Centre (CLC), which is supporting the Kingsborough Centre, said that Christians distributing leaflets and displaying posters in Uxbridge town centre were approached by police the day after the PSPO was published. They were allegedly warned that they’d be fined in the event that they continued their activity and told to show their Christian signs around. 

The church applied for a judicial review, with its lawyers arguing that the PSPO prohibited activities that were “peaceful and lawful” and “which cannot properly be characterised as ‘anti-social'”. 

They argued that the council had not properly consulted with the area people and had “failed to think about the impact the laws would have on individuals with protected characteristics”. 

The High Court granted permission for the claim to proceed last 12 months, but following correspondence with the church, the council has now backed down on the measures. 

Lawyers acting for the council confirmed the U-turn, stating that “the PSPO restriction on distribution of leaflets doesn’t apply where distribution is for a political or religious purpose or by or on behalf of a charity”.

They added that: “Following the first anniversary of the PSPO earlier this 12 months, our client is currently reviewing its PSPO and proposes to remove the prohibitions on the usage of amplification and placing of articles on the highway and expressly state that the leafletting exemption doesn’t apply to non secular leafletting. 

“A draft of the PSPO might be published in the end as a part of our client’s Cabinet processes and consultation on the brand new PSPO.”

Hillingdon council has also agreed to pay the church’s legal costs.

Following the U-turn, Pastor Babatunde Balogun of the Kingsborough Centre, said he was “very relieved and grateful” by the final result. 

“The laws was oppressive and created a climate of fear which meant we couldn’t perform sharing the gospel with the people of Uxbridge,” he said.

“We are concerned on the damage that has already been done. We pray that there’ll now be proper communication between the council and the police to be certain that nobody is penalised for street preaching and sharing the gospel on this zone.

“Our mission is to bring hope and the love of Jesus Christ to the people of Uxbridge. The service we offer to the community must be supported, not suppressed, and we hope that this case and the attention it raises will set a precedent across the country.”

Andrea Williams, chief executive of the CLC, said the escalation in street preacher arrests in recent times was “concerning” and that if left unchallenged, the PSPO “would have set a chilling precedent for Christian outreach ministries across the UK”.

“Christian open-air preaching has an extended and revered history within the UK and is seen as a pillar of free speech and expression, whether passers-by agree with the message or not,” she said. 

She continued, “We are encouraged that the council has seen sense and U-turned, nonetheless, this case must act as a warning to local authorities across the country that any similar laws prohibiting Christian freedoms are illegal and might be challenged.

“We would encourage churches and other outreach ministries to be vigilant and able to report and challenge any similar laws proposed by local authorities.

“It can never be ‘anti-social’ to share the hope of the gospel and reaching the community with material, emotional and spiritual support.”