Anti-abortion campaigner Livia Tossici-Bolt has been defended by Director of the Good Counsel Network Clare McCullough after being found guilty of two buffer zone breaches.
Tossici-Bolt, 64, was accused of breaching the Public Spaces Protection Order on two days in March 2023 after holding a sign outside an abortion clinic in Bournemouth.
Tossici-Bolt was given a two-year conditional discharge and ordered to pay £20,000 after holding a sign which read "here to talk, if you want" outside the clinic within the buffer zone.
In a statement outside court today, Tossici-Bolt described her conviction as a "dark day for freedom" in the UK.
Discussing the conviction on GB News, Director of the Good Counsel Network Clare McCullough hailed the verdict as a "dark day for England" and Britons should be "concerned" for their right to free speech.
McCullough told GB News: "I think it's very unfair. And I agree with Livia's own response that it's a really dark day for England.
"She was literally holding a sign that said, 'here to talk if you want', and she's now going to pay a £20,000 fine for holding that sign. It's incredible."
Hitting out at the legislation surrounding buffer zones outside abortion clinics, McCullough argued that they "should not be there in the first place" as her sign had no intention of "persuading or dissuading women about abortion".
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McCullough explained: "I do believe the buffer zone should not have existed, and I think that people can see that the ridiculous things people are being prosecuted for are what the abortion clinics wanted to move away from their doorstep, not the things they accused us of, like calling women murderer and chasing them down the road, which we never do.
"But I also think that she's not broken the buffer zone, because the buffer zone is all about doing things to persuade or dissuade women about abortion, and her sign doesn't say anything about that. It's the perceptions of people who disagree with her on abortion that have caused them to prosecute her because of who she is, and the fact that she's a known pro-lifer."
She added: "Literally anyone going into that abortion centre would have seen a sign saying, 'here to talk if you want' - it didn't say pro-life, it didn't say keep your baby, it didn't say abortion ends a baby's life - it said nothing like that.
"So I don't see how the judge has come to this conclusion, except by deciding that because of who Livia is, they're going to convict her."
When asked by Martin if this is an issue of free speech in Britain, McCullough warned that Britain "does have a problem with free speech", and the public should "be concerned" for their right to free speech in the future.
McCullough concluded: "I think there's there's more and more evidence every day that Britain has a problem with free speech. And I think we've already had Isabel Vaughan-Spruce having to go to court to defend her right to pray in her head. Adam Smith-Connor praying for his aborted son.
"All these people getting prosecuted for just standing silently near abortion centres - I think even if you don't agree with our views on abortion, people need to be very concerned, because tomorrow it's going to be your view on something that's being challenged, just your right to stand silently and protest something."
District Judge Orla Austin told the court of the defendant: “She lacks insight that her presence could have a detrimental effect on the women attending the clinic, their associates, staff and members of the public.”
She added: “I accept her beliefs were truly held beliefs. Although it’s accepted this defendant held pro-life views, it’s important to note this case is not about the rights and wrongs about abortion but about whether the defendant was in breach of the PSPO (Public Spaces Protection Order).”
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Tossici-Bolt, 64, was accused of breaching the Public Spaces Protection Order on two days in March 2023 after holding a sign outside an abortion clinic in Bournemouth.
Tossici-Bolt was given a two-year conditional discharge and ordered to pay £20,000 after holding a sign which read "here to talk, if you want" outside the clinic within the buffer zone.
In a statement outside court today, Tossici-Bolt described her conviction as a "dark day for freedom" in the UK.
Discussing the conviction on GB News, Director of the Good Counsel Network Clare McCullough hailed the verdict as a "dark day for England" and Britons should be "concerned" for their right to free speech.
McCullough told GB News: "I think it's very unfair. And I agree with Livia's own response that it's a really dark day for England.
"She was literally holding a sign that said, 'here to talk if you want', and she's now going to pay a £20,000 fine for holding that sign. It's incredible."
Hitting out at the legislation surrounding buffer zones outside abortion clinics, McCullough argued that they "should not be there in the first place" as her sign had no intention of "persuading or dissuading women about abortion".
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McCullough explained: "I do believe the buffer zone should not have existed, and I think that people can see that the ridiculous things people are being prosecuted for are what the abortion clinics wanted to move away from their doorstep, not the things they accused us of, like calling women murderer and chasing them down the road, which we never do.
"But I also think that she's not broken the buffer zone, because the buffer zone is all about doing things to persuade or dissuade women about abortion, and her sign doesn't say anything about that. It's the perceptions of people who disagree with her on abortion that have caused them to prosecute her because of who she is, and the fact that she's a known pro-lifer."
She added: "Literally anyone going into that abortion centre would have seen a sign saying, 'here to talk if you want' - it didn't say pro-life, it didn't say keep your baby, it didn't say abortion ends a baby's life - it said nothing like that.
"So I don't see how the judge has come to this conclusion, except by deciding that because of who Livia is, they're going to convict her."
When asked by Martin if this is an issue of free speech in Britain, McCullough warned that Britain "does have a problem with free speech", and the public should "be concerned" for their right to free speech in the future.
McCullough concluded: "I think there's there's more and more evidence every day that Britain has a problem with free speech. And I think we've already had Isabel Vaughan-Spruce having to go to court to defend her right to pray in her head. Adam Smith-Connor praying for his aborted son.
"All these people getting prosecuted for just standing silently near abortion centres - I think even if you don't agree with our views on abortion, people need to be very concerned, because tomorrow it's going to be your view on something that's being challenged, just your right to stand silently and protest something."
District Judge Orla Austin told the court of the defendant: “She lacks insight that her presence could have a detrimental effect on the women attending the clinic, their associates, staff and members of the public.”
She added: “I accept her beliefs were truly held beliefs. Although it’s accepted this defendant held pro-life views, it’s important to note this case is not about the rights and wrongs about abortion but about whether the defendant was in breach of the PSPO (Public Spaces Protection Order).”
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