JD Vance calls out UK authorities for targeting religious Britons and prosecuting ‘thought-crimes’

The US vice president has publicly criticised the UK authorities’ use of so-called buffer zones legislation regarding abortion facilities and for overseeing a “backslide away from” freedom of conscience and religious liberties in the country.

His comments were made today ay the Munich Security Conference in Germany during a speech that addressed concerns around maintaining religious liberty, conscientious rights and free speech, and which made reference to the arrest and prosecution of Adam Smith-Connor, who in October 2024 was convicted for simply praying in his head near an abortion facility in England.

“Perhaps, most concerningly, I look to our very dear friends in the United Kingdom where the backslide away from conscience rights has placed the liberties of religious Britons, in particular, in the cross hairs,” the US vice president said on 14 February.

In October 2024, Adam Smith-Connor became the first Christian convicted for thought-crime in modern Britain.

Smith-Connor was found guilty at Bournemouth Magistrates’ Court of violating a so-called buffer zone around an abortion clinic.

Although he was praying silently, the court ruled that he had manifested “disapproval of abortion” by clasping his hands and bowing his head.

Magistrates imposed a conditional discharge of two years and ordered Mr Smith-Connor to pay prosecution costs of £9,000.

The UK Government has decided to impose buffer zones around all abortion clinics in England and Wales, a move which the bishops of England and Wales have described as “unnecessary and disproportionate”.

The new legislation, contained in section 9 of the Public Order Act 2023, criminalises a range of activities within a 150-metre perimeter of an abortion facility.

Such activities potentially include prayer, thought, peaceful presence, consensual communication and offers of practical support to women in vulnerable situations, should any of these be deemed to influence or interfere with access to the clinic.

“I wish I could say this was a fluke, a one-off crazy example of a badly written law being enacted against a single person, but no,” Vance says, before citing – a full transcript of the speech is available here – similar legislation in Scotland around so-called safe access zones for abortion facilities, and moves made by authorities to encourage people “to report any fellow citizens suspected guilty of thought-crime”.

Most recently, a police officer in England ordered a Catholic woman to leave a public area because her views are “offensive”.

New video footage shows a police officer demanding the woman walk away from an abortion clinic simply because of what she is known to believe.

The officer of West Midlands Police is seen demanding that charitable volunteer Isabel Vaughan-Spruce leaves a public area where she was standing alone and praying silently.

In the footage, obtained by ADF UK, a Christian legal organisation, the police officer explained that he believes Miss Vaughan-Spruce’s “mere presence” may constitute “harassment, alarm and distress”.

He said he drew his conclusions because it was known that Miss Vaughan-Spruce held pro-life beliefs and belonged to a pro-life organisation.

He thus concluded that she was breaching the rules of the “buffer zone” – an area within 150m of an abortion facility.

But the buffer zone legislation is not meant to single out individuals and ban them from the respective area for their beliefs, but rather prohibits behaviours amounting to “intimidation”, “harassment” or “influencing a person’s decision to access” an abortion facility.

ADF International – of which ADF UK is a part– supported Smith-Connor’s legal defence and says it will be appealing the ruling in July 2025.

“In Briton, and across Europe, free speech, I fear, is in retreat,” the US vice president tells the audience.

Smith-Connor has responded to the comments from the vice president:

“I’m overwhelmingly thankful to Vice President Vance for raising my plight in front of world leaders,” he said in a post on social media platform X.

“Nobody should be criminalised for their prayers, their mere thoughts – this case has exposed the UK authorities in front of the world as they allow ‘thought police’ to prosecute peaceful, innocent people for what’s going on in their minds.

“With support from ADF International, I will be appealing my ruling in July and hope for justice to be restored. Silent prayers are not a crime – not here, not anywhere.”

Photo: US Vice President JD Vance speaks at the 61st Munich Security Conference, Munich, Germany, 14 February 2025. International defence and security leaders from around the world are gathering for the February 14-16 conference. (Photo by Sean Gallup/Getty Images.)

The post JD Vance calls out UK authorities for targeting religious Britons and prosecuting ‘thought-crimes’ first appeared on Catholic Herald.

The post JD Vance calls out UK authorities for targeting religious Britons and prosecuting ‘thought-crimes’ appeared first on Catholic Herald.