A woman at the centre of a freedom of speech row that has attracted the attention of US vice-president JD Vance has been found guilty breaching a “buffer zone” outside a Bournemouth abortion clinic.
Livia Tossici-Bolt was found guilty of two public order offences for breaching a protected zone outside a British Pregnancy Advisory Service (BPAS) clinic on two consecutive days in March, 2023.
The zone was established outside the clinic in 2022 given its status as one of the most harassed abortion centres in the country.
Tossici Bolt, who had previously made a legal challenge against the safe zone order, is the the leader of a local branch of 40 Days for Life, an international campaign group that stages prayer protests outside abortion clinics. She stood outside the clinic on March 2 and 3 holding a sign saying “here to talk, if you want to”.
Officer Rukan Taki, who is employed by Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole council to enforce the terms of the safe zone, spoke to her after a complaint was made by the clinic.
A member of the public who spoke to Tossici-Bolt while she was standing with her sign told an enforcement officer that she was part of the “god squad” but that she had not discussed abortion or religion with them.
She told Taki that her sign was because of an epidemic of “loneliness”, adding that women “come here in a very lonely state”. When asked to leave, she refused, and also refused to pay a fixed penalty notice (FPN) issued by the council.
In a hearing at Poole magistrates’ court on Friday morning, she was found guilty of breaching the “buffer zone”.
Speaking outside the court Tossici-Bolt said: “This is a dark day for Great Britain. I was not protesting and did not harass or obstruct anyone. All I did was offer consensual conversation in a public place, as is my basic right, and yet the court found me guilty.
“Freedom of expression is in a state of crisis in the UK. What has happened to this country? The US State Department was right to be concerned by this case as it has serious implications for the entire Western world.”
In her judgment on Friday, Orla Austin, the district judge, said: “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].”
She said that the officers who asked Tossici-Bolt to leave had a reasonable belief that she was in breach of the order, and they were therefore justified in asking her to do so. Tossici-Bolt’s refusal was therefore a breach of the safe zone order.
“She could have chosen a different location to display her sign, especially since – as she says – loneliness is everywhere,” she said.
Austin went on: “I find that her conviction would not be disproportionate. I note that her precise location is important to the defendant; she could have chosen another location to display her signage … it was open to her to move to another location.”
Austin noted that in her evidence, Tossici-Bolt had said that Taki could have told the person who complained about her behaviour “that they were wrong, and they could not have been distressed”.
“I find she lacks insight that her behaviour could have a detrimental effect on people using the clinic,” she added.
Tossici-Bolt was given a conditional discharge, but ordered to pay a £20,000 contribution towards the prosecution’s costs. The council, which brought the prosecution, has spent an estimated £64,000 dealing with her case.
The Bureau of Democracy, Human Rights, and Labor (DRL), a bureau within the US Department of State, issued a statement on X earlier this week which said: “While recently in the UK, DRL senior adviser Sam Samson met with Livia Tossici-Bolt, who faces criminal charges for offering conversation within a legally prohibited ‘buffer zone’ at an abortion clinic.
“We are monitoring her case. It is important that the UK respect and protect freedom of expression.”
Tossici-Bolt, a retired medical scientist living in Bournemouth, said: “I am grateful to the US State Department for taking note of my case.
“Great Britain is supposed to be a free country, yet I’ve been dragged through court merely for offering consensual conversation. I’m thankful to ADF International for supporting my legal defence.
“Peaceful expression is a fundamental right — no one should be criminalised for harmless offers to converse.”
She added: “It is tragic to see that the increase of censorship in this country has made the US feel it has to remind us of our shared values and basic civil liberties.
“I’m grateful to the US administration for prioritising the preservation and promotion of freedom of expression and for engaging in robust diplomacy to that end.
“It deeply saddens me that the UK is seen as an international embarrassment when it comes to free speech.
“My case, involving only a mere invitation to speak, is but one example of the extreme and undeniable state of censorship in Great Britain today.
“It is important that the government actually does respect freedom of expression, as it claims to.”
Her case has been championed by the British wing of the Alliance Defending Freedom (ADF), a campaigning juggernaut that has successfully led high-profile legal challenges in the US.
The Southern Poverty Law Centre, a leading civil rights body, describes the ADF as a “hate group” due to an anti-LGBTQ approach that has seen ADF leaders warn that a “homosexual agenda” could harm society.
Lorcan Price, legal counsel for ADF International, said: “We are used to seeing this kind of diplomacy happen with countries that have authoritarian and dictatorial regimes. It is sobering to realise the censorship crisis in the UK has become so extreme that it is now necessary here too.
“Livia’s criminal prosecution for merely offering consensual conversation highlights in a particular way that free speech is now becoming a major point of contention between the US and UK.
“If the UK continues to abandon free speech, it’s now clear there will be no ‘special relationship’. We are grateful to the US for engaging in diplomacy to promote the fundamental right of freedom of expression in this country.
“But we deeply regret that our own politicians’ instinct is to censor speech and even prayers they object to. We hope this story and Livia’s shocking prosecution instigate a return to valuing free speech in Great Britain.”
Louise McCudden, head of external affairs at the pregnancy advice and abortion provider MSI Reproductive Choices [formerly named Marie Stopes International], said the charity was relieved “to see the law upheld”.
She said: “Before we had Safe Access Zones, women entering our clinics were harassed, spat at, called murderers and sinners, and given false medical information. We are grateful to local authorities like Bournemouth for listening to residents and introducing local protections.”
“Safe access zones” are areas within 150 metres of a clinic or hospital providing abortion services in England and Wales. They were introduced with cross-party support under the Conservative government.
The US State Department expressed disappointment in the verdict on Friday night.
“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,” posted the Bureau of Democracy, Human Rights, and Labour, which sits within the State Department, on X.
It marked a highly unusual intervention by an ally of the UK into a domestic matter.
The Trump administration is reportedly seeking to champion more anti-abortion protesters facing prosecution in the UK, contacting at least one pro-life Christian charity asking to speak to campaigners who have suffered from “censorship” of their views.
Under the Public Order Act 2023, it is an offence for someone to do anything in this area that intentionally or recklessly influences someone’s decision to use abortion services, obstructs them, or causes harassment, alarm or distress to staff and clinic users.
However they only extend 150 metres from the clinic, and are not in force at all times of day. The buffer zone in Bournemouth operates for 12 hours a day, 5 days a week, and outside of these times there are no restrictions on protest.
