Pastor convicted for preaching the Bible in abortion “buffer zone” to appeal “dangerous” free speech ruling

Northern Irish pastor Clive Johnston has filed an appeal against his conviction for preaching and holding a short religious service near Coleraine’s Causeway Hospital. The Christian Institute, which is supporting the 78-year-old, warned that the ruling represents a serious threat to freedom of religion and freedom of speech across the United Kingdom.

Mr Johnston, a retired church pastor and grandfather, was convicted under Northern Ireland’s abortion buffer zone legislation after delivering a short open-air sermon on John 3:16 “For God so loved the world”, and leading hymns and prayer within 100m of the hospital grounds in July 2024.

The sermon made no reference to abortion, nor were there any abortion placards or banners – a fact accepted by both sides and the judge in court. Yet, the pastor was found guilty of being “reckless” as to whether his actions of preaching and standing near a cross might ‘influence’ someone accessing the hospital’s abortion services.

Speaking after confirming his intention to appeal, Mr Johnston said:

“This ruling sets a deeply troubling precedent. I was not protesting abortion. I was peacefully preaching the Gospel, reading from the Bible, and pointing people to the hope found in Jesus Christ.

“If this conviction is allowed to stand, it will signal that basic Christian witness and public expressions of faith can be criminalised simply because they take place in the wrong location.

“That should concern every person who values freedom of religion and freedom of expression, regardless of their views on abortion.”

Mr Johnston’s legal team will argue that the conviction represents a disproportionate interference with fundamental rights protected under the European Convention on Human Rights and codified into UK law under the Human Rights Act, including freedom of speech, freedom of religion, and freedom of peaceful assembly.

The case is the first in the United Kingdom in which a person has been prosecuted under buffer zone legislation for preaching a sermon that did not mention abortion.

Commenting on the appeal, The Christian Institute’s Simon Calvert said:

“This case was never about harassment or intimidation – nobody has alleged Clive Johnston engaged in anything close to this form of behaviour. It is about whether the state can criminalise the peaceful expression of Christian faith in a public place under abortion buffer zones laws/.

“The implications of this dangerous ruling reach far beyond one individual pastor in Northern Ireland. If public authorities can prosecute someone for reading the Bible and preaching on God’s love, then fundamental freedoms are at risk.”

Footage played in court and now circulating online shows police officers instructing Johnston that he must preach in a “safe” area like a chaplaincy, rather than on the public street, where Johnston “does not know the effect” that hearing the Gospel may have on people.

🇬🇧👮‍♂️UK police officers charged this 78-year-old grandfather for preaching from the Bible in a public street

Because he’s near a hospital where abortions take place,

And he is allegedly at risk of persuading women not to have abortions.

He didn’t even mention abortion 🤦🏻‍♀️👇 pic.twitter.com/yhWFPGQ8Iy

— Lois McLatchie Miller (@LoisMcLatch) April 29, 2026

Mr Johnston has received international support in the face of the UK authorities’ restriction on his freedom of religion and freedom of speech.

Ahead of the trial, the U.S. Department of State raised concerns about the prosecution of the pastor, calling such cases an “egregious violation” of fundamental rights, and a “concerning departure” of UK authorities from the “shared values” which underpin the transatlantic relationship.

Following the judgment on 7 May, major evangelical leaders commented on the shock ruling, including Franklin Graham: “Pastor Johnston didn’t even mention abortion; he just preached the Gospel in a public space. I hope his legal team at @ChristianOrgUK will have success in appealing this. Religious freedoms are being threatened not only in the UK, but here in the US, Canada, and around the world.”

Meanwhile in the UK, former MP and television presenter Jacob Rees-Mogg has said: “It is extraordinary that in a Christian country the police think it is an offence to preach the word of God outside a hospital.”

Ulster MP Carla Lockhart from the Democratic Unionist Party marked the ruling against Johnston as “a very sad day for Northern Ireland”.

ENDS