The Bible and free speech: Prosecutors ‘eroding fundamental freedoms’ with their call to silence parts of scripture, says MP

The UK's main prosecuting agency has been accused of trying to "erode fundamental freedoms" after it declared that parts of the Bible should not be read aloud in public.
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The prosecutors' stance has also been described as "ironic", given that so much courtroom testimony is underpinned by oaths sworn on the Bible.

The move by the CPS has already drawn criticism from evangelist David Smyth and free speech law specialist Gavin Millar KC, and now two unionist barristers – Gavin Robinson and Jim Allister – have spoken up over the issue too.

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The story has its genesis in Swindon, Wiltshire, two years ago, when a confrontation occurred between a street preacher and two lesbians.

Generic image of an open Bible against stained glass. Image from Creative Commons (Project 365, 87, 280314: Crying In The Chapel, by comedynose, is marked with Public Domain Mark 1)Generic image of an open Bible against stained glass. Image from Creative Commons (Project 365, 87, 280314: Crying In The Chapel, by comedynose, is marked with Public Domain Mark 1)
Generic image of an open Bible against stained glass. Image from Creative Commons (Project 365, 87, 280314: Crying In The Chapel, by comedynose, is marked with Public Domain Mark 1)

It was claimed that the preacher shouted at the couple they would "burn in hell" (which the preacher denied).

The preacher was prosecuted for allegedly harassing and threatening them, but the case against him collapsed last week when the complainants could not be traced.

In the course of the case, the CPS (which handles all prosecutions in England and Wales) argued: "There are references in the bible which are simply no longer appropriate in modern society and which would be deemed offensive if stated in public."

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The case has been virtually ignored by the media at large, despite the far-reaching nature of the CPS' position (though the News Letter has been reporting on it since Friday).

‘THIS IS GOVT OVERREACH’:

Gavin Robinson, DUP MP for East Belfast, said: "The whole purpose of our Article 9 right is that the state can not tell an individual what they are allowed to believe, and Article 10 protects our right to share it.

"If the CPS believe their role is to erode fundamental freedoms in our democracy, then a contemporary clash of wills, on the altar of modernity, is going to be all the more fraught.

"Government should move quickly to quell this overreach."

Article 9 of the European Convention on Human Rights, drawn up in the early 1950s and since signed by 38 European nations, guarantees "freedom of thought, conscience and religion".

Article 10 guarantees "freedom of expression".

(Full description of each article below).

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The European convention echoes a similar but non-binding statement, adopted by the United Nations three years after the end of WWII - the Universal Declaration of Human Rights.

As well as the UK signing the European convention in 1952, the convention has since been written into UK domestic law in the form of the 1998 Human Rights Act.

‘SLOPPY AND LAZY’:

Jim Allister, leader of the TUV and MLA for North Antrim, said: "Freedom of religion is a fundamental right which has been long fought for."Article 18 of the UN Universal Declaration of Human Rights, adopted by the United Nations in 1948, states that:

'Everyone has the right to freedom of thought, conscience and religion; this right includes freedom to change his religion or belief, and freedom, either alone or in community with others and in public or private, to manifest his religion or belief in teaching, practice, worship and observance.'

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“It is also protected by the European Convention on Human Rights which was incorporated into UK domestic law by the Human Rights Act."Article 9 again guarantees freedom to manifest religion or belief 'in public or private'.

"It is of course deeply ironic that the CPS would claim that there are sections of the Bible which are unquotable when Bibles are employed on a daily basis in courts across the Kingdom when witnesses swear on them.”

One of the things the News Letter discovered was that, when the CPS gave examples of Biblical verses which it deemed to be too offensive for the modern era, it mis-quoted one of them (it claimed Deuteronomy 28:27 is about “cannibalism”, but it isn’t; it appears the CPS was thinking of a different verse).

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Mr Allister added: "The CPS takes upon itself to debate religion, and it does so sloppily and in a lazy fashion leaving one thinking that someone pulled stuff off an atheist chat forum and didn’t even bother to check the references."

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These criticisms were put to the CPS, but it decided not to respond.

Meanwhile the Presbyterian Church in Ireland, Church of Ireland, Methodist Church in Ireland, Catholic Church in Ireland, Church of England, and Catholic Church in England, have likewise said nothing.

ARTICLES OF THE EUROPEAN CONVENTION:

ARTICLE 9 – Freedom of thought, conscience and religion

1. Everyone has the right to freedom of thought, conscience and religion; this right includes freedom to change his religion or belief and freedom, either alone or in community with others and in public or private, to manifest his religion or belief, in worship, teaching, practice and observance.

2. Freedom to manifest one’s religion or beliefs shall be subject only to such limitations as are prescribed by law and are necessary in a democratic society in the interests of public safety, for the protection of public order, health or morals, or for the protection of the rights and freedoms of others.

ARTICLE 10 – Freedom of expression

1. Everyone has the right to freedom of expression.

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This right shall include freedom to hold opinions and to receive and impart information and ideas without interference by public authority and regardless of frontiers.

This Article shall not prevent States from requiring the licensing of broadcasting, television or cinema enterprises.

2. The exercise of these freedoms, since it carries with it duties and responsibilities, may be subject to such formalities, conditions, restrictions or penalties as are prescribed by law and are necessary in a democratic society, in the interests of national security, territorial integrity or public safety, for the prevention of disorder or crime, for the protection of health or morals, for the protection of the reputation or rights of others, for preventing the disclosure of information received in confidence, or for maintaining the authority and impartiality of the judiciary.

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