In Depth:  Christian Concern

A Christian woman who faced a trial for street preaching has been told there was ‘no case to answer’ by a district judge.

Hazel Lewis, 49, was arrested while preaching a Biblical message outside Finsbury Park tube station in North London on 12 February 2020, after false accusations were made against her by members of the public.

As en went to press, a case was underway in which a Christian mother was claiming discrimination, victimisation and breach of statutory duty against her son’s primary school.

In 2018, Izzy Montague’s then four-year-old son was required to take part in the school’s gay pride event, despite his family’s Christian beliefs. Mrs Montague said the school created a hostile and intimidating atmosphere towards parents who dissented from the LGBT ideology being forced on their primary school children. Her case is being supported by the Christian Legal Centre.

A Christian street preacher has now been paid £1,250 after being unlawfully arrested for street preaching in April.

Dominic Muir was manhandled and unlawfully prevented from preaching on the back of his truck in Dorset. Dorset Police admitted the officer acted unlawfully and have paid for damages and costs. Christian ministry in general was not treated as essential by the UK Government during lockdown, with even homeless ministries being clamped down on by police.

A leading midwife has shared details about the recent deaths of two women from abortion pills. They had taken the pills at home. This happened as the government confirmed it would press ahead with a consultation on extending the lockdown ‘pills in the post’ system.

A Regional Chief Midwife wrote to staff requesting information on any women or girls who had experienced ‘complications of this process’. The letter noted there had been ‘two maternal deaths’ after taking abortion pills. One woman was found dead at home after taking a pill, the second died of sepsis ‘very quickly in the A&E department’.

A Christian caretaker is suing a school for constructive dismissal after he tweeted ‘keep away from Pride parades’.

Within minutes of posting, Keith Waters was contacted by a journalist and LGBT activist. A few days later, his wife answered the door to funeral directors who had been called to arrange his funeral. This was after he had been involved in a near miss with a car while cycling.

A man who underwent gender re-assignment surgery who subsequently became a Bible-believing Christian, called for more caution from medical and mental health services in gender clinics.

Peter Benjamin, 60, who served in the British Army, underwent surgery to remove his genitalia in 2015 at a private London hospital. For many years Benjamin had suffered from addiction to cross-dressing and alcohol, leading to depression and suicidal thoughts. Married three times, his first wife mistook his addiction for homosexuality, while his second wife encouraged him to cross dress – even going clothes shopping with him. In 2005 he married his third wife, whom he credits with bringing his life back on track. However in the wake of losing her to cancer in 2011 and overwhelmed by grief, he decided that he wanted to become a woman ‘full-time’ and begin identifying as ‘Victoria.’

A Christian West End actress who was removed from a lead role in a musical for a Facebook post that cited the Bible, is set to take a theatre and her agency to court for breach of contract and for anti-Christian discrimination, it was reported in September.

On 14 March 2019, Miss Seyi Omooba whose talent is described as ‘jaw-droppingly good’, had been given a lead role as Celie in The Color Purple. After the cast was announced, on 15 March, Miss Omooba was tagged on Twitter by another West End performer, Aaron Lee Lambert. Lambert’s tweet included a screenshot of a Facebook post that Miss Omooba had posted in 2014.

In a landmark judgment on 3 July, the Court of Appeal upheld the rights of Christians to freely express their faith, as it ruled on the case of the trainee social worker, Felix Ngole who had been expelled from university for quoting the Bible on social media.

The Court of Appeal held that it was the university that was lacking insight and not Ngole. The Court condemned the position of the university whereby people would live in fear if private expressions of views were overheard; and could be reported by anonymous complainants. The Court held that: ‘The mere expression of religious views about sin does not necessarily connote discrimination.’ It was also recognised that Felix Ngole had never been shown to have acted in a discriminatory fashion.

A vicar and Oxford biology graduate resigned from the Church of England and from his role as a school governor in May. This occurred after transgender ideology, endorsed by his diocese and taught in the CofE school where he was a governor, silenced him as a scientist and a Christian.

During a training session on transgender issues run by Mermaids, John Parker was told by the headteacher: ‘This is training, John, it’s not your time to share your view-point.’ This followed his request to raise some different perspectives. The training session was recorded, and the audio clearly demonstrates that his request was shut down by the headteacher.

A petition asking the Government to allow parents to opt their child out of the new Relationship and Sex Education (RSE) curriculum needed around 20,000 more signatures to be considered for parliamentary debate on the topic as en went to press.

The petition, which takes about 30 seconds to fill in, states: ‘We believe it is the parent’s fundamental right to teach their child RSE topics or to at least decide who teaches them and when and how they are taught. We want the right to opt our children out of RSE when it becomes mandatory in September 2020.’

After a primary school in Croydon ran a ‘Pride’ event and some parents complained, one alleged in November that the school has been dismissive and retaliated by barring them from the school.

The ‘Proud To Be Me’ event, held by Heavers Farm Primary School, was billed as being for all children, and none could opt out.

On 24 August, lawyers representing Vue Cinemas admitted that it was unlawful to refuse to screen the Voices of the Silenced, a documentary about people who have rejected their gay lifestyles.

Originally due to be shown in February at a London cinema, the host of the private premiere, Mike Davidson, was emailed by Vue the day before the screening, cancelling the event. Vue paid Mike Davidson’s compensation claim in full after the cinema group admitted breach of contract. Vue sticks by its claim that showing the ‘ex-gay’ film would have breached its corporate values.

Sarah Kuteh, a nurse who was dismissed from her job after giving her personal Bible to one patient, was reinstated on 26 July.

The review panel unanimously ruled that Sarah was fully ‘fit to practise’ and revoked all restrictions on her nursing practice.

A Christian doctor due to take on a key civil service role has lost the position, for asserting that gender is determined by biology, it was reported in July.

Dr David Mackereth, who has worked for the NHS for 26 years, was set to become a disability assessor for the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP).

David Lynn, a church leader from Canada, was arrested in March while preaching outside Barking Tube station, for alleged homophobic comments.

He had preached about people searching for love in the wrong places, saying that it is only through a right relationship with Christ that this deep need can be satisfied. A passer-by accused him of making homophobic statements, but there was no video evidence to back up the false accusation. He was held for 20 hours, then released, with the interviewing officers admitting that mistakes had been made.

A Christian volunteer chaplain at HM Prison Brixton was removed from chaplaincy work by a Muslim senior chaplain, it was reported on 4 February.

Pastor Paul Song had run the Alpha Course at HMP Brixton since 1998 under the former senior chaplain, Phillip Chadder. Many signed up regularly for the course and become Christians.

Charges were dropped against two street preachers in mid-January who had been falsely accused of hate speech.

David Barker and Stephen Wan were questioned by the police under caution, after preaching the gospel on the High Street in Camberley, Surrey. As hecklers gathered, it was alleged the preachers said that ‘homosexuals are going to hell’ and ‘man cannot lie with man’. The preachers did not say either of these.

A Christian street preacher had his conviction for using ‘threatening and discriminatory language’ while preaching in Lincoln overturned on 7 December.

Daniel Courney, aged 33, had appealed against a decision by Lincoln Magistrates after the CPS pressed charges over complaints by Muslims in the area. A woman and her family claimed that the preacher singled her out and reported to the police that Mr Courney called her ‘ISIS’ and told her to ‘go back to your country’. He denied this, and the Crown Court agreed, quashing the sentence imposed by the Magistrates.

A Christian who was dismissed as a magistrate after expressing his view that it was in a child’s best interests to be raised by a mother and a father, began legal action in August after being blocked from returning to his role as an NHS Trust director,

Richard Page, who had nearly 20 years' experience as a finance director in the NHS, was suspended from his role as a non-executive director of Kent and Medway NHS and Social Care Partnership Trust in March 2016.

A mother whose son survived despite being born with almost no brain has joined forces with parliamentarian Lord Shinkwin, campaigning for a change in the law on disability abortion, it was reported in April.

Shelly Wall, 45, believes all lives should be valued and respected equally. She was told five times to abort Noah, who developed congenital hydrocephalus at birth, caused by spina bifida. He was born with only 2% of his brain.

All the funds have now been raised to pay off Aisling Hubert's huge legal costs, following her bid for ‘gender-abortion’ justice. In 2014 she launched a private prosecution against doctors offering women abortion on the grounds of the baby being ‘the wrong sex’.

In a video, Aisling thanked supporters for their vital part in this fight for life. She explained that her case was ‘motivated by Jesus’, and encouraged people with this reminder: ‘God doesn't measure success the same way that we measure success. He measures it by our faithfulness in taking a stand.’

It was reported in April that the General Pharmaceutical Council (GPhC), a professional body overseeing pharmacists in the UK, has amended its guidance to deny pharmacists the right to opt out of providing services which would offend their religious or moral beliefs.

This essentially creates a monopoly in the pharmacy profession for those who support abortion, contraception, or other morally controversial treatments; thus overriding the grave concerns of Christians or people of other faiths who have a conscientious objection to the provision of certain services and products.

An Employment Tribunal Judge said ‘people should not express anything about their own beliefs without it first being raised as a question by someone else’, during a hearing on 30 March.

Judge Martin Kurrein made the comments during the hearing of Sarah Kuteh, a Christian nurse dismissed by the NHS after she spoke to patients about her faith, and occasionally offered prayer.

A Muslim convert to Christianity accused Oxford University of discrimination and bias after a lecturer told him he could not ask questions about Islam, it was reported in March.

Shahriar Ashrafkhorasani, an Iranian-born convert from Islam and a Masters student in Applied Theology at Wycliffe Hall, is set to be ordained in the Church of England in July.

A Scottish evangelist was cleared of all charges on 9 January after he was arrested on the streets of Irvine.

Gordon Larmour was charged with behaving in a ‘threatening or abusive manner aggravated by prejudice relating to sexual orientation’ and ‘assault’, after he answered questions from some young men in the street about the Christian view on homosexual practice.

An Employment Tribunal Judge described the case of Richard Page as ‘crying out to be heard’ at a preliminary hearing on 12 January.

In August 2016, an NHS panel unanimously decided that it was ‘not in the interests of the health service’ for Mr Page to continue as a non-executive director because of his view that it was in the best interests of a child to be raised by a married mother and father.

An Employment Appeal Tribunal ruled on 7 December that the Church of England Jeremy Canon withheld lawfully licence after he married his Pemberton’s same sex partner in 2014.

The first member of the clergy to deliberately defy clear church teaching, he had previously had five children with his former wife.

An employment dispute between a school and a teaching assistant who was disciplined over the sharing of Christian beliefs concerning marriage, had a successful conclusion in early December.

Victoria Allen had answered a direct question from a pupil about the rainbow symbol used by supporters of equal marriage.

A Christian who was dismissed as a magistrate after expressing the view that it was in a child’s best interests to be raised by a mother and father, began legal action in November after being blocked from returning to his role as an NHS director.

Richard Page, who has nearly 20 years’ experience as a finance director in the NHS, was suspended from his role as a non-executive director of Kent and Medway NHS and Social Care Partnership Trust (KMPT) in March. The Trust said that in its view, Richard's expression of his beliefs about family life would have ‘a negative impact on the Trust, its staff and most importantly its patients’.

The 18 October saw the start of the Home Office’s independent review into the application of shari’a law in the UK.

Bishop Michael Nazir-Ali sharply criticised the review, warning that any recognition of shari’a in British law would embed a principle of contradiction, given the inequality that lies at the heart of shari’a. He questioned how helpful the review in itself will be, noting that no non-Muslim Islamic expert or human rights expert will be on the review panel.

In a previously unannounced family case, it was adjudicated that four children who were removed from their Christian parents will not be adopted. For the present they will instead remain with their foster carers and continue to have contact with their family, with the possibility of being reunited in the future.

The children, all under the age of 8 at the time, were removed by the local authority in February 2015 because there were concerns about the parents’ choice to home school and the mother’s ability to manage the demands of her young family. Although the local authority was originally content for the children to be cared for by their grandparents, it then changed its position and applied for a drastic adoption order which would have meant splitting the children between two homes as well as permanent separation from their own family.

The Channel 4 documentary What British Muslims Really Think was presented by Trevor Phillips and aired on 13 April.

The programme is based on what is claimed to be the most comprehensive survey of British Muslims ever conducted. Christian Concern has been dealing with the problems arising from the growing influence of Islam in Britain for many years. They have warned about the creation of a parallel legal system and the growth of radical Islam in the nation and have spoken out about the discriminatory and abusive nature of shari’a law.

Children as young as four will be encouraged to ‘explore’ their sexuality at a primary school’s planned ‘transgender day’, according to press reports in March.

St Mary the Virgin Primary School, East Sussex, announced that they would be hosting a series of talks and workshops looking at issues around gender and in particular the acceptance of transgender people.

A Christian magistrate, who was removed from the bench by the Lord Chancellor for his Biblical beliefs about marriage and family life (see en April), has since been suspended by an NHS Trust in late March.

Richard Page, 69, was told by NHS bosses that he has been suspended from his position as a non-executive Director whilst the NHS Trust Development Authority 'considers whether it is in the interests of the health service' for him to remain in his post

A senior NHS occupational therapist, who was disciplined for giving a Christian book to a Muslim colleague, lost her appeal on 7 April against an Employment Tribunal ruling.

Judge Eady QC upheld the Tribunal’s decision, that the NHS had acted reasonably in disciplining Victoria Wasteney for inviting her colleague to church-related events, praying with her (with consent) and giving her a Christian book.

In early February the Crown Prosecution Service dropped all charges against a street preacher who was arrested and charged for comments he made about Islam and ISIS.

Michael Jones, 66, of Hornsea, was arrested in December 2015 and charged with two allegations of religious harassment under the Crime and Disorder Act 1998.

A British Christian was removed from a flight by police, after a passenger saw a WhatsApp conversation about prayer on his phone, it was reported in February.

Laolu Opebiyi, a Nigerian-born business analyst who now lives in London, was reported as a security threat after a passenger had looked over his shoulder and misread the title of the WhatsApp group, ‘Isi men’, as ‘Isis men’. Mr Opebiyi, 40, was then removed from the plane at Luton airport by armed officers and questioned about his faith.

On 10 March Rev. Barry Trayhorn lost his appeal at an Employment Tribunal for discrimination and constructive dismissal by HMP Littlehey.

Mr Trayhorn, an ordained Pentecostal minister, worked at the prison for sex offenders as a gardener. At the invitation of the Chaplain he led some chapel services on a voluntary basis. Complaints were made after a service in May 2014, in which Mr Trayhorn spoke of the wonder of God’s forgiveness for those who repent, quoting 1 Corinthians 6.9-11 from memory. He was barred from leading future services and as a result of the way in which he was subsequently treated by the prison management he resigned from his job.

A Christian student was removed from a university Social Work course at the end of February after he made comments on his personal Facebook page in support of biblical teaching on marriage and sexual ethics.

Following a ‘Fitness to Practice Committee’ hearing at Sheffield University, second year Masters student Felix Ngole, 38, has been told that he has been ‘excluded from further study on a programme leading to a professional qualification’ and is ‘no longer recognised as a University student’.

A Christian couple whose two adopted sons were removed by social workers in 2014 are to have their case reopened, it was reported in January.

In allowing the appeal, heard at the Royal Courts of Justice, Lady Justice King and Lord Justice Simon highlighted the problem of an earlier judgment in that the judge failed to give proper account for his reasons in coming to his conclusion.

Disability campaigners Merv and Nikki Kenward are to appeal the High Court ruling of 4 December that the Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP) acted lawfully in loosening prosecution policy in cases of assisted suicide.

Mrs Kenward, who was left paralysed by Guillain-Barre Syndrome in 1990, said that the court’s decision was ‘bizarre’ and ‘leaves vulnerable people at risk from dodgy doctors. On behalf of the disabled, elderly, terminally ill and others who are vulnerable, we will continue the fight for a reversal of this deceptive and dangerous liberalisation of prosecution policy’, she said.

An article in the September edition of the highly respected scientific journal Nature has highlighted the risks associated with mitochondrial replacement therapy.

The UK Government approved the technique earlier this year, which allows babies to be born using genetic material from two women. However, the Nature article exam-research’ which ‘a growing body of ines shows that the changes to DNA are linked with conditions such as ‘neurodegenerative diseases, cancer and ageing’.

Two church leaders highlighted the importance of contending for gospel freedoms and speaking of Jesus in public life on 23 June.

John Stevens, national director of the FIEC group of churches, and Dr Joe Boot, senior pastor of Westminster Chapel in Toronto and a cultural apologist, were speaking at a special event in London hosted by Christian Concern. Entitled ‘Gospel Truth in Contemporary Culture’, the Open Forum sought to explore different approaches to Christian engagement in public life.

The next Free Church of Scotland Moderator, David Robertson, has accused the British Humanist Association (BHA) of ‘sheer hypocrisy’ after it emerged that they would be distributing books promoting atheism to every secondary school in Scotland after successfully securing a ban on a Christian book being distributed to primary schools.

The distribution of The Young Atheists Handbook: Lessons for Living a Good Life with- out God comes just three months after the Humanist Society of Scotland (HSS) secured a ban on Scripture Union’s It’s your move that seeks to help pupils make the transition from primary school to secondary school.

A formal complaint has, in April, been lodged with the General Medical Council (GMC) against the Royal College of Psychiatrists (RCP) and three leading psychiatrists over the College’s public statements about homosexuality.

The complainants accuse the Royal College of neglecting its public duty by making misleading statements about same-sex attraction at the time of the same sex marriage Bill whereby it claimed that sexual orientation was biological and fixed at birth and then, quietly, a year later, stating that sexual orientation was neither inborn nor unchangeable. The complainants highlight the influence of the Royal College on public discourse and argue that its long delay and failure to publicise the eventual correction widely, constitute negligence.

On 12 May, the Court of Appeal granted a Christian couple, whose adopted children have been taken into care, permission for their case to be heard in full before the Court of Appeal.

The two young brothers, had stayed with the couple for over three years before being taken into care in summer 2014. The couple – who cannot be named for legal reasons – have raised their own family, and sought to provide a loving home for the two children who had come from troubled backgrounds.

An Employment Tribunal ruled in late March that the employer of a senior occupational therapist in London was justified in disciplining her for giving a Christian book to a Muslim colleague.

Victoria Wasteney worked as an occupational therapist at the East London NHS Foundation Trust for eight years and had an exemplary record. However, she was accused of ‘harassing and bullying’ her Muslim colleague for giving her a book about a Muslim woman’s encounter with Christianity. And even though the colleague had given her consent, senior managers also told Miss Wasteney that she was wrong to pray with her and invite her to church events.

Ex paratrooper and street preacher Michael Overd was, in March, convicted of a Public Order Offence for using the ‘wrong’ Bible verse in a public conversation, but was also acquitted of two other public order charges.

In a highly unusual judgment, the preacher was told by the judge, Shamim Ahmed Qureshi, that he should not have referred to Leviticus 20 to make his point but clearly indicated that he could have used chapter 18, as the former refers to the death penalty but the latter to homosexual practice as an ‘abomination’. Mr Overd said that he was being punished for words which ‘didn’t even pass my lips’ as he had not referred to the death penalty in his conversation or preaching. He also noted that he was ordered to pay compensation for causing ‘emotional pain’ to someone who approached him aggressively demanding to debate the issue [of homosexuality].

An Employment Tribunal in early March heard that Christian views on marriage should not be expressed in the workplace.

Last year Sarah Mbuyi was dismissed from her job after a colleague lodged a formal complaint against her.

Policies which ensure religious liberty and freedom of expression are likely to affect how 71% of evangelicals vote in May’s General Election, according to research published in early March by the Evangelical Alliance.

The issue tops the list of matters that will influence voting, with ‘opposition to same-sex marriage legislation’ and a ‘pro-life stance on euthanasia’ also coming in the top five. The survey suggests that evangelicals are much more likely to vote compared to the general population. You can read the report, Faith in Politics?, published by the Evangelical Alliance here.

In January a cabinet minister and England’s highest judge together disciplined a Christian magistrate for saying that a child’s best interests lie in being raised by both a mother and a father, telling him that his Christian beliefs about the family must not influence his work whilst sitting on the Bench.

Richard Page, who has served as a Justice of the Peace in Kent for 15 years and is a well-respected member of the panel, expressed the view during a closed-door consultation with colleagues in an adoption case.

In mid-January, the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, the Queen Elizabeth II Conference Centre and Christian Concern(CC) reached a settlement following the cancellation of CC’s conference on marriage at the Westminster conference centre in May 2012.

The event, exploring biblical marriage, was cancelled by the QEII Centre the night before it was due to take place. Concerns over compatibility with the Centre’s diversity policy were cited. The Centre accepted that some people have deeply held views about the nature of marriage, and that every individual has the freedom to express these in accordance with the law.

A Muslim leader spoke at the Church of England’s General Synod in mid-November in what is believed to be the first time that a non-Christian has addressed the Church’s ruling body.

Fuad Nahdi, Executive Director of ‘Radical Middle Way’, joined a panel discussion on violence against religious minorities in Syria and Iraq. Andrea Williams, a member of General Synod, said: ‘This debate was disappointing. Fuad Nahdi began by equating Jesus and Mohammed as prophets, in front of Synod, and sought to portray Islam as a religion of peace, failing to acknowledge that the atrocities in Iraq have Islam at their root’.

The Court of Appeal ruled on 28 October that Nohad Halawi effectively has no employment protection rights in relation to losing her job at Heathrow, after spurious ‘anti-Islam’ complaints were made against her.

In the judgment, Lady Justice Arden said: ‘I too have an uneasy feeling that the complex arrangements have the effect that the Appellant has no remedy for discrimination’.

New figures published by the Office of National Statistics (ONS) show that only 1.6% of adults in the UK identify themselves as gay, lesbian or bisexual.

The figures, which were collected by the ONS for its Sexual Identity Project, show that 1.2% of people identify as gay or lesbian whilst 0.5% identify as bisexual.

Street evangelist Mike Overd is being prosecuted for an alleged religious aggravation public order offence, it was reported in October.

The charges follow a complaint to police in Taunton that Mike made a comparison between the perfect life of Jesus and the life of Mohammed. Police have informed the former paratrooper that the Crown Prosecution Service wishes to bring three charges against him under Section 5 of the Public Order Act.

Every Christian has an opportunity to respond to a government request for personal evidence that they have not felt free to talk about their faith in public or have been prevented from doing so.

Your evidence will be totally confidential, taking just a few minutes of your time, but it must reach the UK Equality and Human Rights Commission (EHRC) before October 14.

Mike Overd, who has been a street evangelist for more than five years, was asked to attend Taunton police station for questioning over six complaints were received about his preaching in the town centre, it was reported in early September.

He says that since a new town centre sergeant arrived some months ago, who urged local traders to use mobile phones to video him making potentially ‘offensive remarks’, he has felt harassed.

A Christian registrar who was sacked for indicating she would not be willing to conduct same sex weddings has been reinstated after a successful appeal in August.

Margaret Jones, was asked by her employers in 2013 whether her Christian beliefs would prevent her from conducting same sex weddings. The day before the first same sex ‘marriages’ were due to be performed, Margaret had a meeting with management and confirmed that, as a Christian, she believed marriage can only be between one man and one woman. At the meeting, Margaret was told the council’s position was that she either perform same sex ‘marriages’ or resign.

Mayor of London Boris Johnson’s willingness to redefine words to avoid political inconvenience was exposed on July 30, following a remarkable High Court judgment involving the banning of a London bus ad.

In a contrived and punitive judgment, Justice Lang reduced to differences in ‘semantics’ Mayor Boris Johnson’s intervention to halt the 2012 London Bus Campaign that Core Issues Trust, together with Anglican Mainstream, mounted to counter an ongoing Stonewall campaign.

On June 14 Dr Mike Davidson, Director of Core Issues Trust (CIT, a non-profit Christian ministry supporting men and women with unwanted homosexual feelings), opened his consulting rooms in Belfast to offer therapy for unwanted same sex attraction.

Another counsellor, who has been banned by her professional bodies – Lesley Pilkington – will also be offering therapeutic help to people who want to lose or reduce same sex attraction. Mike, Lesley and a third counsellor, Phelim McIntyre, will be providing therapeutic support at consulting rooms at 70 Wimpole Street, London W1G 8AX, headquarters of Christian Concern.

The Crown Prosecution Service has dropped the case against a Christian street preacher arrested under hate crime legislation while preaching in Liverpool city centre, it was reported in late June, as it would not be in the public interest to prosecute him.

Alex Peverely was preaching on different issues, including same sex ‘marriage’, when he was approached by an employee of the nearby Playhouse Theatre. The employee asked him to reduce the volume, claiming that the theatre had received a complaint from a customer.

A Christian occupational therapist has been disciplined for praying for a Muslim colleague, despite being encouraged by the colleague to talk about her faith, it was reported in late June.

Victoria Wasteney, Head of Occupational Therapy at the East London NHS trust, prayed for the newly-qualified Muslim worker after she expressed concerns about her health. When Victoria offered to pray with her, she willingly agreed, replying: ‘OK’.

It was reported on June 13 that Scottish Police have dropped all charges against a Christian evangelist, Tony Miano, arrested for allegedly using ‘homophobic language’ while street preaching in January.

Responding to the charges being dropped, Mr Miano said: ‘It took months for the prosecutors to view the video footage of my preaching despite our best endeavours from the very beginning to get them to do so. When the Prosecutors finally managed to get the footage off my camera they could plainly see that the accuser had made allegations about my speech that were simply untrue and that there was no case against me.’

A Christian nursery nurse has lost her job after a conversation in which a gay colleague pressed her about her beliefs, and then took offence when told that the Bible regards the practising of homosexual sex as a sin, it was reported in late April.

Sarah Mbuyi is claiming unfair dismissal on grounds of religious discrimination. She says that in January 2014 her colleague at Newpark Childcare in Highbury, London, initiated a conversation about Christmas and went on to ask a number of other questions relating to the Christian faith. In this context, Miss Mbuyi’s colleague raised the issue of what the Bible teaches on homosexuality. The colleague felt unhappy that she could not marry her female partner because of the church, and said that she thought God condoned homosexuality.

The Coalition for Marriage has succeeded in placing its booklet, informing teachers of the implications of introducing same-sex marriage, in every school in Gloucestershire, it was reported in late April.

The 27-page guide contains sections headed ‘No promotion of sexual orientation’ and ‘Teachers are free to express opinions, but not to promote political policies’.

Christian Concern asked Eric Pickles to give evidence against his own government department after his April 6 comment that militant atheists should ‘get over’ the fact that Britain is a ‘Christian nation’.

The challenge, live on Radio 4, was given due to Mr Pickles’ government department refusing to allow a Christian Concern colloquium at the QEII Conference Centre in London (a venue run by Mr Pickles’ department) in May 2012.

A former teacher, who was ordered by a police constable to stop preaching outside Banbury Magistrates Court House, had the charges of assault and breach of the peace against him dismissed by Oxford Magistrates Court on February 11.

The officer approached Bill Edwards, aged 73, when he was preaching outside the Court House and asked him to move on, as some people inside the building found his preaching ‘offensive’. He refused, after which the constable told him that he would be arrested. Mr Edwards followed her into the police station a short distance away, where he was grabbed by six officers and taken to the ground and arrested.

On January 20, the TV soap opera Coronation Street broadcast a storyline involving the death of one of the characters, Hayley Cropper, a transsexual who, with the help of her partner, took her own life.

Calls were made to complain to Granada Television that the programme would normalise euthanasia, as well as distort the facts around terminal illness and the desire for people to take their own lives.

Two Christian guesthouse owners, who were penalised for their rooming policy based on their Christian beliefs about marriage, lost their appeal in the UK Supreme Court in early December.

Civil partners Martin Hall and Steven Preddy took legal action against owners Peter and Hazelmary Bull after they refused to offer them a double room in accordance with their ‘married couples only’ policy. The policy had been applied consistently to both unmarried heterosexual and homosexual couples.

The Court of Appeal issued a judgment on Thursday, December 5 in the case of children’s worker, Celestina Mba.

Importantly, it gives legal recognition to the fact that Sunday is a day of worship and rest for many Christians and so is, in principle, worthy of protection.

The London Borough of Wandsworth in early November decided to drop charges against street preacher Dominic Muir for preaching in Battersea Park, London, in August.

Dominic set up a public address system in the park on August 11 to speak to passers by. He read from the Bible and handed out Christian tracts. But a police officer said that he would be prosecuted because he didn’t have permission to preach there. The council alleged that Dominic had breached little used byelaws which ban street preaching in certain parts of the borough.

A bid to obtain an emergency judicial review on the displaying of bus adverts in London failed in early November.

Transport for London (TfL) allowed Stonewall's bus adverts to appear on buses last year reading, ‘Some people are gay. Get over it!’ but did not allow the Core Issues Trust counter advert, ‘Not gay. Ex-gay, post-gay and proud. Get over it!’ Back in March a judge had ruled that the TfL decision was ‘inconsistent and partial’. The ads breached TfL's own guidelines. The original case is currently on appeal with a result due imminently.

Stonewall, the homosexual lobby group, held its annual awards event at the Victoria and Albert Museum in London on November 7.

This event includes the so-called ‘bigot award’ for the person or group they deem to be most anti their agenda. Last year a number of supporters of Christian Concern wrote to big business sponsors of the event expressing their surprise at companies willing to be associated with an award of this nature.

In late October, the British Psychiatric Association (BPA) removed former homosexual Dr. Mike Davidson from the psychotherapists’ register of trainee professional membership under the direction of the United Kingdom Council for Psychotherapy (UKCP).

Dr. Davidson specialises in counselling those who consider themselves troubled by feelings of same-sex attraction. He has counselled without professional objection for six years and is recognised as an intelligent, empathetic and caring therapist. He has recently become a target for gay activists.

Rev Josh Williamson, the pastor of Craigie Reformed Baptist Church in Perth, was arrested on September 18 whilst addressing a crowd on a high street.

This is now the third arrest of a Christian street preacher since July. Tony Miano was arrested in London in July and Rob Hughes was arrested in Basildon earlier this month (see NIBs). Josh regularly takes to the streets to hand out leaflets, talk to passers-by and do open-air preaching. But a police officer told him to stop preaching because he was breaking the law and that he would be arrested if he continued. When Josh said that he would not comply because he was not breaking the law, the officer placed him under arrest for breach of the peace.

The Scottish Secular Society has launched a new campaign to force schools to create an ‘opt-in’ system for religious observance, it was reported in late August.

Currently all pupils in schools across Scotland are automatically involved in religious worship and parents are given the option to withdraw their children if they wish. But the Scottish Secular Society has launched a petition demanding an opt-in, rather than opt-out, system that will effectively require parents to give consent before their children are permitted to participate.

In early August the Court of Appeal upheld the High Court’s decision in the joint case brought by Paul Lamb and the family of the late Tony Nicklinson.

The case was dismissed by three judges who ruled that it was unlawful for a doctor to end the life of a patient on request and that it was for Parliament, not the courts, to decide whether the law should be changed. Andrea Williams said: ‘It was always unlikely that the court would rule in [their] favour. The legal battle is part of a bigger strategy of the anti-life lobby.’

Following mediation on June 19, Christian Concern (CC) and the Law Society (LS) have reached an agreement concerning the problems around the cancellation of the May 2012 marriage conference organised by CC.

Both parties have agreed that there are differing opinions on marriage, and the LS, while not agreeing with CC, acknowledge that the views are sincerely held and CC are entitled to hold and express them. The LS is organising a debate on marriage to which a speaker from CC will be invited.

Police arrested a man in South West London on July 1 for using homophobic speech while street preaching.

Tony Miano, a US citizen, was questioned by the police after a member of the public called them to the scene. He had been speaking on the subject of sexual immorality and the need to abstain from it based on a passage from the Bible (1 Thessalonians 4.1-12).