Politicians and church leaders gathered in Westminster this week to mark the launch of The Christian Institute’s Street Preacher’s Charter.
The event was hosted by Lord Jackson of Peterborough, and he was joined on a panel by Baroness Fox of Buckley and the Institute’s Solicitor Advocate Sam Webster to explain the significance of the new resource, as well as emphasising the importance of freedom of speech and expression in our society.
The Charter sets out the rights and responsibilities of individuals who engage in public preaching or share their beliefs on the streets of England and Wales. It is endorsed by both Open Air Campaigners GB and Open-Air Mission, who had representatives at the launch.
The Christian Institute has produced this helpful guide for street preachers. It is written in the form of a Charter, a document which enshrines duties and responsibilities alongside reciprocal rights and privileges. It also provides an overview of relevant laws. The purpose is to encourage good practice whilst discouraging behaviour which might give street preaching a bad name.
Mr Webster, the Charter’s primary author, told those assembled: “Our Charter seeks to remind police and local councils of the freedoms that street preachers have enjoyed in this country for hundreds of years, whilst at the same time capturing a sense of the often difficult but important job performed by police and local officials in keeping order on the streets.”
He added: “Our hope is that over time, we will see more and more street preachers who make the Charter their own.”
He explained how, in due course, he “would love to see police forces and councils who might be prepared to formally endorse the Charter”.
The former Director of Public Prosecutions Lord Macdonald of River Glaven KC supplied the foreword to the Charter, in which he wrote: “The emergence of free speech in our society was partly forged amid the legal persecution of Christian open-air preachers.”
He continued: “Today, both our common law and modern human rights instruments uphold those hard-fought freedoms, and they are routinely used and enjoyed by those of all faiths and none.
“If conducted responsibly, street preaching can enhance the vibrancy of our public squares and serve to remind us that we are a society where free speech is valued and different opinions and beliefs are tolerated.”
At the weekend, it was announced that Lord Macdonald has been commissioned by the Government to review the law on hate crime, with a focus on the impact on free speech. The Christian Institute will be contributing to the review.
Baroness Foster of Aghadrumsee attended the event because of her concerns about the wrongful arrests of street preachers. She said: “Free speech, the right to voice your opinion, should be protected.”
The former Northern Irish First Minister commented: “I think this will be a very useful tool, actually, for the police. And I do hope it is disseminated across the UK for police officers to have a look at”.
And Mike Judge, Editor of the Evangelical Times and a trustee of The Christian Institute, described the launch as a “rip-roaring event”, adding that the Charter “asserts not only the legal rights of those who preach, but the civic principle that free speech belongs to everyone — preacher and passer-by alike. It places responsibility where it belongs, both upon those who proclaim and those who police”.
He added: “This Charter is a timely shield for those who dare to speak — and a timely corrective for a society tempted to silence them. I commend it to you.”