Police to pay £4,000 to preacher over sermon arrest

Police have been ordered to pay compensation to a Shropshire Christian street preacher who was hauled off in handcuffs after a member of the public claimed his sermon was offensive to homosexuals.

A judge condemned the arrest of Anthony Rollins, who quoted from the King James Bible as he preached in Birmingham in 2008.

Police said they were now considering an appeal.

Mr Rollins, from Whitchurch, was handcuffed and held in a cell for nearly four hours after a passer-by dialled 999 and complained his language was "hugely offensive".

He was handing out leaflets in the city centre and quoting passages which referred to homosexuality.

The ruling ended with West Midlands Police ordered to pay more than £4,000 in damages to the 45-year-old preacher.

Judge Lance Ashworth QC told Birmingham County Court the arrest was not done "maliciously, spitefully or arrogantly" but was done "unthinkingly."

Mr Rollins has been speaking on city streets as a member of a Christian mission for 12 years.

Mr Rollins said: "The judgment is excellent news. But I didn't do this for the compensation. I did it for freedom of speech."

The ruling was praised by the Christian Institute, the think tank which backed Mr Rollins's court claim.

Spokesman Mike Judge said: "Street preachers may not be everyone's cup of tea, but they are part of our Christian heritage. The police have no business arresting Christians for quoting the Bible."

A West Midlands Police spokesman said: "Police acknowledge the court ruling and will be considering whether to appeal or not."