UK woman says she was not at abortion clinic ‘to express views' after conviction
Livia Tossici-Bolt, an anti-abortion campaigner whose case has been cited by the US state department over 'freedom of expression' concerns in the UK, told the BBC's Today programme she was 'really disappointed' with the conviction 'because it's nothing to do with protesting' and said she would 'continue my fight for freedom of speech'.
Tossici-Bolt had stood with a sign reading: 'Here to talk, if you want' facing the British Pregnancy Advisory Service (BPAS) clinic, which was previously targeted by anti-abortion activists who had gathered nearby before Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole council put the order in place.
The campaigner went on trial at Poole magistrates court last month accused of breaching a public spaces protection order in March 2023 near a clinic in Bournemouth. On Friday she was found guilty of two charges of breaching the order.
She was given a conditional discharge and ordered not to commit any additional offences over a two-year period. She was ordered to pay costs of £20,000 towards what the judge said had been the 'considerable' resources expended by the local authority, along with £26 towards a victim surcharge fee.
Tossici-Bolt told BBC Radio 4's Today programme on Saturday: 'I was not there to express my views. I was there to offer free conversation, consensual conversation, to anyone who wanted to speak to me and not on the topics I want to speak. I was there to listen.'
She added: 'I was there not to make any woman unhappy or distressed. I was there to speak to everyone in the community that wanted to have a conversation with me.
'Certainly, anyone could have approached me, including, if they wanted to, women accessing the clinic. It was up to them and I was there to listen to them, not to try and convince them at all. I was just there for everyone just to talk to me.'
When asked if she was there to try to get the women to change their minds, she said: 'No, absolutely not.'
Tossici-Bolt's lawyer, Jeremiah Igunnubole, said he and his team were 'exploring all legal options'. 'We need to look very closely at the legal decision made yesterday and also the prosecution costs of £20,000 that has been imposed on Livia,' Igunnubole told the Today programme.
'This is unprecedented circumstances; never before have we seen entirely peaceful conduct criminalised for nothing other than offering a consensual conversation.'
A delegation from the Bureau of Democracy, Human Rights, and Labor (DRL), an office within the US Department of State, met Tossici-Bolt last month during a visit to the UK.
They were accompanied by a US-backed anti-abortion group, which had been supporting her case.
In a post on X hours after the conviction on Friday, the DRL said: 'We are disappointed with the UK court's conviction of Livia Tossici-Bolt for violating a designated 'buffer zone' at an abortion clinic. Freedom of expression must be protected for all.'
After the verdict, the chief executive of BPAS, Heidi Stewart, said: 'The clinic in Bournemouth has been subjected to decades of anti-abortion protests which resulted in more than 500 reports of harassment before this local safe access zone was brought into force.
'This case was never about global politics but about the simple ability of women to access legal healthcare free from harassment.'
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