In a concerning setback to the right to free speech, the High Court has rejected the appeal of a Christian preacher who was arrested outside Southwark Cathedral for displaying placards which protested Islam in the wake of the London Bridge, Westminster, and Manchester Arena terrorist attacks.
Ian Sleeper, 58, was arrested outside Southwark Cathedral on 23 June 2017 under controversial section 5 of the Public Order Act 1986 for causing “harassment, alarm and distress”, for displaying a sign which read: “Love Muslims, Hate Islam, Jesus is love and hope.”
The arrest was captured on police body cam footage. Sleeper was held in a police cell for 13 hours.
Weeks earlier, on 7 June 2017, on London Bridge and at Borough Market, which is adjacent to Southwark Cathedral where Sleeper was protesting, Islamic terrorist attacks had taken place, killing eight people and injuring 48.
Mr Sleeper was later released without charge. He then sued the police for wrongful arrest and false imprisonment. He failed in his original action against the police but was given permission to appeal.
However, in a concerning judgment for free speech, the High Court has now confirmed that the arrest was lawful: in his ruling Justice Sweeting rejected the idea, often expressed by Christians, that you can ‘hate the sin but love the sinner.’
Mr Sleeper, supported by the Christian Legal Centre, will now appeal Mr Justice Sweeting’s ruling.
Section 5 of the Public Order Act is a controversial law which has long been criticised by free speech campaigners because it has been used to stifle speech and debate on the grounds that a listener may be offended or feel insulted.
Ten years ago, the Reform Section 5 campaign, which was led by Rowan Atkinson and backed by a broad cross-section of people and groups including Christian organisations and the National Secular Society, led to a change in the law in 2015 which was meant to protect people engaging in speech that could offend people’s feelings.
Unfortunately, Sleeper’s judgment shows how ineffective the change has been and how free speech is seriously undermined in the United Kingdom.
The appeal came after months of antisemitic and pro-Hamas protests in London following the October 7 2023 attacks.
Monuments have been desecrated, people wearing poppies have been intimidated, and multiple calls for Jihad and violence have been made, without interference from the police.
Protestors have held signs calling for the genocide of Jews in Israel, but the police have repeatedly taken no action.
On Remembrance Day, 11 November 2023 and 2024, there were reportedly hundreds of thousands of protestors marching against Israel and in support of Hamas on the streets of London.
Sleeper’s case has shown that some religions and philosophical beliefs are favoured over others, or treated more leniently than others, by the Metropolitan Police. His treatment provides a clear example of ‘two tier’ policing.
In the judgment, the Judge suggested there was a potential risk to public order as a result of the sentiments expressed by the signs (despite there being no evidence of this, rather a mere assertion by the police): “The circumstances were very different from those that confronted the police in this case where they were concerned with a risk to public order in the febrile atmosphere that followed major terrorist incidents and where they had to make a decision on the spot.”
Mr Sleeper said:
“In light of recent events in London, what happened to me following the terrorist attacks in 2017 is still hugely relevant and was a clear indication of what was to come.
“When I went to Southwark, I was appalled by the violence that had been seen on London’s streets weeks earlier and it was clear that Islamic ideology motivated the violence. I was peacefully and calmly protesting the ideas behind the attacks and pointing to Jesus as the only hope in the middle of the tragedy and fear.
“How I was treated was completely wrong. The police have never apologised and continue to believe that what they did was right. Recent events in London following the conflict in the Middle East has exposed that anyone protesting Israel and calling for violence would not be treated as I was by the police.
“There is no consistency in policing over these matters and what has happened to me and on our streets in the past month should be of grave concern to many.
“I will continue to pursue justice on this matter for as long as it takes and am pleased to have the opportunity to appeal the previous ruling.”
“The police body cam footage reveals clearly how Islam is policed contrasted with how Christian street preachers are dealt with. There was no sense of proportion or attempt to understand what Ian Sleeper was trying to do on that day. To put Ian Sleeper in a cell for over thirteen hours was totally disproportionate.
“What happened to Mr Sleeper in 2017 has been prophetic for what we now see on London’s streets during pro-Hamas protests. The police have upheld the right for Islamic protestors to call for genocide without interference, and anyone who counter-protests and disagrees faces the full force of the law.
“Ian explicitly said love Muslims. He meant it – everything about his character and experience says as much. He is a dedicated and effective evangelist who understands that Islam gets in the way of people finding God and experiencing eternal life.
“But judges perversely found that he didn’t mean ‘Love Muslims’ – that he was trying to incite hatred towards them.
“How can you be free to criticise Islam in public if the words you mean and explicitly say are ignored in the courts?”
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