'The police went after her with a real zeal - but she was innocent'

Hazel Lewis, the first Christian woman to face trial for street preaching since a landmark free speech case in 1997, has been told that there was ‘no case to answer’ after she was arrested and prosecuted which preaching a Biblical message in North London in February 2020.

Caroline Farrow, UK campaign director of CitizenGO, spoke to GB News about Hazel’s case and the importance of protecting free speech. “What’s alarming is that [the police] decided to go after her with a real zeal,” Caroline commented. “Having discovered that she hadn’t made any of those remarks, they decided to charge her for ‘causing harassment, alarm and distress’ under the Public Order Act. This also shows up the danger of the Police, Crime and Sentencing Act which [could come into force] if it finishes its final stage in the [House of] Lords, because this will mean that anyone saying anything that somebody else doesn’t like could find themselves subject to prosecution.”

Caroline also commented on how there seems to be a disproportionate response to Christian street preaching: “You’re allowed to be annoying! You’re allowed to say things that people disagree with. This is not harassment, alarm and distress. There is a very unequal attitude to how Christian preachers are treated and how people of other religions are treated.”