A former teacher, who was ordered by a police constable to stop preaching outside Banbury Magistrates Court House, had the charges of assault and breach of the peace against him dismissed by Oxford Magistrates Court on February 11.
The officer approached Bill Edwards, aged 73, when he was preaching outside the Court House and asked him to move on, as some people inside the building found his preaching ‘offensive’. He refused, after which the constable told him that he would be arrested. Mr Edwards followed her into the police station a short distance away, where he was grabbed by six officers and taken to the ground and arrested.
At the hearing, the District Judge at Oxford Magistrates Court told Mr Edwards that he had no case to answer, and expressed doubt that the officer had acted in the execution of her duty.
Costs
An application for a restraint order to prevent Mr Edwards from preaching outside Banbury Court House was refused, and he was given an order for costs to cover his travel expenses. Mr Edwards was supported throughout the case by the Christian Legal Centre and was represented in court by a solicitor allied to the Christian Legal Centre, Michael Phillips.
