A Pentecostal church is celebrating a major 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 within laws to deal with anti-social behaviour like drunkenness and drug abuse but Hillingdon Council's legislation made it a criminal offence to preach 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 be issued with a fixed 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 would be fined if they continued their activity and told to turn 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 local community and had "failed to consider the impact the legislation would have on people with protected characteristics".
The High Court granted permission for the claim to proceed last year, 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 does not apply where distribution is for a political or religious purpose or by or on behalf of a charity".
They added that: "Following the 1st anniversary of the PSPO earlier this year, our client is currently reviewing its PSPO and proposes to remove the prohibitions on the use of amplification and placing of articles on the highway and expressly state that the leafletting exemption does not apply to religious leafletting.
"A draft of the PSPO will be published in due course as part of our client’s Cabinet processes and consultation on the 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 outcome.
"The legislation was oppressive and created a climate of fear which meant we could not carry out sharing the gospel with the people of Uxbridge," he said.
“We are concerned at the damage that has already been done. We pray that there will now be proper communication between the council and the police to ensure that no one is penalised for street preaching and sharing the gospel in this zone.
“Our mission is to bring hope and the love of Jesus Christ to the people of Uxbridge. The service we provide to the community should be supported, not suppressed, and we hope that this case and the awareness 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 years 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 a long and respected history in 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, however, this case must act as a warning to local authorities across the country that any similar laws prohibiting Christian freedoms are unlawful and will be challenged.
“We would encourage churches and other outreach ministries to be vigilant and ready to report and challenge any similar legislation 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.”
