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John Sherwood arrest.png
Pooyan Mehrshahi/Facebook
World News

Street preacher arrested for alleged hate speech cleared of charges

by Kelly Valencia

A Christian street preacher who was arrested in April last year for alleged homophobic comments has been cleared of all charges.

Pastor John Sherwood, 71, was preaching outside Uxbridge Station in north London when officers asked him to stop following complaints by passers-by.

A video shared online showed the pastor arguing with two police officers before he was pulled from a raised platform and taken away in handcuffs.

He was taken to a police station but was later released.

Pastor John had been speaking on Genesis 1: 27-28 and was arguing that the family unit should encompass and father and a mother, as directed by God, not two fathers or two mothers.

Pastor John was accompanied by his colleague Peter Simpson who, at the time, accused the Met Police of putting LGBT rights ahead of others.

Pastor Peter has now confirmed to Conservative Women UK that Pastor John has been acquitted of the public order charges brought against him following the trial last week.

He said Pastor John’s defence centred on Article 10 of the 1998 Human Rights Act which argues that “Everyone has the right to freedom of expression. This right shall include freedom to hold opinions and to receive and impart information and ideas without interference by public authority.”

Pastor Peter continued: “The trial was quite remarkable in that there was so much Scripture quoted in it. Pastor Sherwood was determined to impress upon the prosecution that everything that he ever preaches upon is grounded in the final authority of God’s word, the Bible,”

According to Pastor Peter, after the trial Pastor John recited words of the hymn, ‘To God be the glory, Great things he hath done’.

At the time, the Met Police said the case of Pastor John will need no further review after being assessed by the Directorate of Professional Standards.

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