A championship against abortion has been convicted of violating an abortion clinic buffers zone in Bournemouth in a hearing ‘monitored’ by Trump officials.
Livia Tossici-Bolt, 64, was accused of violating a protection order of public spaces outside the Dorset Clinic on two days in March 2023 by holding a plate and saying, ‘Here to speak, if you will.’
Senior US officials have taken the extraordinary step to weigh in a row about her prosecution and warn: “We are concerned about freedom of expression in the United Kingdom.”
A Bureau in the US Department of State said it carefully monitored the matter and the reports claimed that the issue even entered the UK and the US trade negotiations, but Jonathan Reynolds insisted that free speech was not part of tariff negotiations with the US.
She was convicted at Poole Magistrate’s Court on Friday on two counts of violating the order of public spaces.
District Judge Orla Austin told the court that the defendant did not have an insight that her presence could have an adverse effect on the women attending the clinic, their associates, staff and members of the public, could have an adverse effect.
She added: “I accept that her beliefs are truly beliefs. Although it was assumed that this defendant had the views of life, it is important to note that this matter is not about the rights and injustices about abortion, but about whether the defendant was in conflict with the Popo (public spaces protection order).”
After the verdict, the British Pregnancy Service (BPAs) said the case is “never about world politics”, but that women can, instead, ‘access to legal health care free of harassment’.
Heidi Stewart, CEO of BPAs, said: “The Bournemouth clinic is subject to decades of protests against abortion that led to more than 500 reports of harassment before this local safe access area was put into effect.
“This matter has never been about world politics, but about the simple ability of women to gain access to legal health care, free of harassment.
“It is up to the police and the legal system to determine whether individuals have violated the law.”
A hearing last month heard that the champion refused to pay a fixed fine after she was charged with violating the protection order, claiming she was entitled to present consensual talks under the Human Rights Act.
In a statement posted on X this week, the Bureau of Democracy, Human Rights and Labor (DRL) said: “US-UK relationships have a mutual respect for human rights and fundamental freedoms.
“As Vice President Vance said, however, we are concerned about freedom of expression in the UK.
“While recently in the UK, the Sam Samon, senior adviser of the Drl, met with Livia Tossici-Bolt, facing criminal charges for presenting conversations within a legally prohibited ‘buffer zone’ in an abortion clinic.
“We monitor her case. It is important that the UK respect and protect the freedom of expression. ‘
Lord Sumption, a former top judge in the UK High Court, accused the Trump administration of ‘unjustifiable interference’ over the comments.
However, Tossici-Bolt welcomed the US intervention, claiming that her persecution was an ‘extreme example’ of censorship, adding: ‘Great Britain is supposed to be a free country, but I was dragged by the court simply for the presentation of consensual talks. I am grateful for Adf International for supporting my legal defense.
“Peaceful expression is a fundamental right-no one should be criminalized for harmless offers to chat.”
The Pro-Life Camp Fighter added: ‘It is tragic to see that the increase in censorship in this country has made the US feel that it should remind us of our shared values and basic civil freedoms.
‘I am grateful the US administration for prioritizing the preservation and promotion of freedom of expression and being involved with a strong diplomacy.
‘It makes me deeply saddened that the UK is seen as an international embarrassment when it comes to free speech.
“My case, with only a mere invitation to speak, is just one example of the extreme and unmistakable state of censorship in Great Britain today.”
Lorcan Price, Legal Attorney for Freedom of Speech Campaign, ADF International, who supports Tossici-Bolt, said: ‘We are used to seeing this kind of diplomacy happen to countries that have authoritarian and dictatorial regimes. It is sober to realize the censorship crisis in the UK has become so extreme that it is now needed here.
“Livia’s criminal prosecution because he merely presents consensual conversations in a specific way that free speech now becomes an important controversy between the US and the United Kingdom.
‘If the UK continues to abandon free speech, it is now clear that there will be no’ special relationship ‘. We are grateful to the US for participating in diplomacy to promote the fundamental right to freedom of expression in this country.
‘But we regret that our own politicians’ instinct is to make speech and even prayers that they object to. We hope that this story and the shocking persecution of Livia return to the appreciation of free speech in Great Britain. “
More follows this breaking news story …
