Rushmoor Borough Council has been lambasted by a Christian street speaker and evangelist, after attempting to impose a blanket ban on all Christian-related activity in the town centre.
The Labour-run authority has sensationally U-turned on its controversial decision to seek an injunction that would have prohibited Christians preaching and praying in the town centres of Farnborough and Aldershot.
The council had originally made the application after its claim that preachers had been "offensive" and "caused alarm and distress", but has now withdrawn this after facing accusations of "criminalising Christianity".
Speaking to GB News, Jamie Broadey claimed that the move was "beyond reasonable", after receiving complaints from locals about only the "extreme" preachers in the town.
Broadey claimed that the injunction was 'beyond reasonable', and would have 'banned all forms of Christian evangelism'
GB News
Discussing the injunction, Broadey explained: "A wide group of people do different kinds of Christian evangelism and outreach in the town, ranging from loud preaching to giving people teas and coffees during during the night time, and some complaints were made to the council about some of the more extreme preachers.
"So I believe that the council did need to do something - however, what they did is using a sledgehammer to crack a walnut. They went way, way, way beyond what is reasonable."
Teaming up with Christian Concern, a campaign group, they fought to oppose the injunction and won. When asked by host Martin Daubney if their victory is a "turning point", solicitor Martin Phillips said the move was "completely illegally illiterate".
Phillips told GB News: "We really hope that this is going to be the turning point. This was absolutely unprecedented in terms of its breadth, its depth, and it would literally have banned all forms of Christian evangelism and which not just preaching and not just speaking, but even singing would have been prohibited.
LATEST DEVELOPMENTS:
Solicitor Martin Phillips claimed that the injunction was 'totally unprecedented'
GB News
"So going out on a Christmas evening and giving out mince pies and singing carols would have been illegal under this injunction. It was completely legally illiterate, and it just had no respect for the freedom of speech, that has been enshrined in this country for so many years."
In further criticism of the "mad" proposal, Broadey admitted that it took him "several days" to fully comprehend the scale of the ban they were wishing to impose.
Broadey said: "The council, they will say that they were trying to target the most extreme people. However, what they have written, they took two years to write it. They didn't consult with local faith leaders who they know.
"They've got all of the main faith leaders in their phonebook. They didn't consult and it's just resulted in a mad, a mad proposal. When I first read the proposal, it took me about four or five days before I actually believed what I read."
Broadey and Phillips fought and won against the injunction
GB News
Expressing his outrage at the injunction, Martin Daubney was astonished that a Labour-run council would be considered "offensive" in today's society.
Martin fumed: "I find it astonishing that we're even having this conversation. That giving out mince pies and cups of tea and singing hymns is even remotely offensive in modern Britain."
In a statement, Rushmoor Borough Council said: "Meetings between local faith leaders and Rushmoor Borough Council have led to a joint commitment to ensure faith groups can meet, worship and preach freely in Farnborough and Aldershot town centres, and to tackle issues with anti-social behaviour by a small number of individuals."
