Christians overturn ban on street preaching in London borough
In 2023, the London Borough of Hillingdon introduced a Public Spaces Protection Order (PSPO) that banned religious groups from preaching with amplification, distributing leaflets and displaying Bible verses in Uxbridge town centre.
The Kingsborough Centre, a Pentecostal church, claimed to have found out without warning at a prayer meeting that the majority of its outreach activities had been criminalised and it risked a fine of up to £1,000 if preaching continued.
The Uxbridge church, which was once attended by the England football star Bukayo Saka, took the council to court, claiming the move was an attack on freedom of speech. Church leaders claimed they had been 'criminalised for loving our neighbour', without any consultation from civic chiefs.
PSPO legislation, introduced as part of the Anti-Social Behaviour, Crime and Policing Act 2014 under the Lib Dem-Conservative coalition, is normally used to deal with anti-social behaviour such as drinking and drug abuse.
On one occasion, church members said police officers approached them in Uxbridge and told them to hide signs displaying biblical messages such as Jesus Christ is Lord of Lords and King of Kings. Leaflets entitled How Can I Know God? and What is Christianity: An Introduction to the Story of Jesus also faced censorship.
'The legislation was oppressive'
Pastor Babatunde Balogan, who leads the Kingsborough Centre, told The Telegraph: 'As Christians who are committed to our faith, carrying out street evangelism is essential to manifesting our Christian beliefs.
'These rules threatened to not only prevent us from loving our community, as we are commanded by the Bible, but also to criminalise us for doing so. The legislation was oppressive and created a climate of fear. We are concerned at the damage that has already been done.'
The 57-year-old added: 'We had no choice but to pursue a legal claim, and were deeply concerned how it would impact not only us but other churches across the borough.'
In an application for a judicial review to the High Court, lawyers for the Kingsborough Centre said the council 'unlawfully' introduced the measures and that they breached articles 9, 10, and 11 of the European Convention on Human Rights, which protect fundamental rights related to belief, expression, and association.
In December , lawyers acting for the council confirmed a U-turn and said: 'The PSPO restriction on distribution of leaflets does not apply where distribution is for a political or religious purpose or by or on behalf of a charity.'
It is understood the council has also agreed to pay the church's legal costs, believed to be in the region of £20,000.
'A pillar of free speech and expression'
Andrea Williams, the chief executive of the Christian Legal Centre, which is supporting the church, said: 'Christian open-air preaching has a long and respected history in the UK and is seen as a pillar of free speech and expression, whether passers-by agree with the message or not.
'The legislation published by the London Borough of Hillingdon represented something we had not seen before. Published under the radar, it demonstrated a clear direction of travel that would see sharing Christianity on the streets of Uxbridge become a criminal offence.
'If allowed to go unchallenged, this legislation would have set a chilling precedent for Christian outreach ministries across the UK. We would encourage churches and other outreach ministries to be vigilant and ready to report and challenge any similar legislation proposed by local authorities.'
Lord Toby Young, the general secretary of the Free Speech Union, told The Telegraph that simply threatening a judicial review 'has been enough' to get councils to lift PSPO orders and added: 'It looks like Hillingdon had to learn the lesson the hard way.'
Hillingdon Council said: 'It is utterly misleading to suggest there was a ban on 'sharing Christian beliefs' or any censorship on preaching.
'The conditions of the PSPO applied generally to everyone, did not target Christian preaching groups, and were introduced with the intention of addressing public concerns about the inappropriate use of amplification equipment and other concerns around leafletting and unauthorised pop-up displays within town centres.
'It was only intended this would tackle the disturbance to shoppers, residents and visitors caused by unlicensed or unpermitted events, including pop-ups, street trading and promotional stands.
'Once aware of the concerns raised by the church groups, the council worked in close communication with them to reach a resolution. This included meeting with the groups to explain the PSPO and how it works and the available licensing schemes to allow the groups to continue activities in town centres.
'The council proceeded to conduct an early review of the PSPO in light of the concerns of the church groups, running a consultation in early 2025, and subsequently discharged the order and introduced a new one in its place from 1 May 2025.'
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