An anti-abortion campaigner at the centre of a row over free speech that has drawn the attention of the US government has been convicted for breaching a “buffer zone” around a clinic in the south of England.
Livia Tossici-Bolt, 64, was found guilty by a judge on Friday on two counts of breaching an order imposed by the local council intended to protect patients and staff at the facility, a sexual health centre which includes abortion services, in Bournemouth.
She was ordered to pay £20,000 in costs and received a conditional discharge, meaning she will receive a criminal record but will not face further action unless she commits another offence in two years.
Tossici-Bolt, a devout Christian with no previous convictions or cautions, went on trial after she held up a sign outside the clinic over two days in March 2023 that read: “Here to talk, if you want”. Local officials had asked her to leave the area but she declined to do so.
Her prosecution sparked a row over free speech. An arm of the US state department said earlier this week it was “monitoring” the case, adding: “It is important that the UK respect and protect freedom of expression.”
Speaking after the verdict, Tossici-Bolt said she “did not harass or obstruct anyone”. “All I did was offer consensual conversation in a public place,” she said. “This is a dark day for Great Britain.”
Delivering the verdict at Poole Magistrates’ Court, District Judge Orla Austin said she accepted that Tossici-Bolt had “firmly and truthfully held” beliefs.
However, the judge said that these had to be balanced with the rights of the clinic’s patients and staff.
The judge noted that before the Public Spaces Protection Order was imposed in 2022, users of the clinic had reported “being detrimentally affected by the protests taking place nearby”.
“This case is not about the rights and wrongs of abortion but about whether she was in breach of the requirements” of the order, the judge said.
Public Spaces Protection Orders were created by the Anti-Social Behaviour, Crime and Policing Act in 2014, giving local authorities powers to restrict certain activities within specified areas.
Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer’s spokesperson said on Friday that “the right to protest is a cornerstone of our democracy, but it does not give people the right to harass others”.
“The UK has a very proud tradition of free speech over many centuries, and we remain proud of it today,” the spokesperson added.
UK government officials said they were not aware of any engagement with US counterparts over the case.
Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole Council welcomed the conviction, saying that the order had been necessary to allow users of the clinic to access it “without fear of intimidation”.
The council had told the court that its legal costs bringing the case totalled £64,700. “She must pay a contribution,” the judge said.
