A Christian gospel singer was told by a volunteer police officer that she was forbidden from singing “church songs” on the streets of Britain in the latest example of apparently legally ilitterate anti-Christian bias from UK police.
Harmonie London, a gospel singer who often performs Christian music on the streets of London, shared footage over the weekend of a female volunteer police officer trying to shut down her performance.
In the video, the officer told London: “No, miss, you’re not allowed to sing church songs outside of church grounds,” and wrongly asserted that she could only sing “outside of church grounds unless you have been authorised by the Church to do these kind of songs”.
“That’s a load of rubbish, you’re allowed,” Ms London replied, appealing to the Human Rights Act, which protects freedom of religion in the UK. The officer, apparently stumped by this walked away in frustration while sticking her tongue out at the camera.
There are currently no laws preventing people from singing on the streets in the UK and the Daily Mail noted that the area in which Ms London was performing was specifically regulated by the local council as a zone for busking and street entertainment.
According to the paper, the volunteer officer involved in the dispute was Maya Hadzhipetkova, a Bulgarian who relocated to Cyprus in 2009 for five years before coming to the UK.
The video has sparked widespread backlash, with many on social media claiming that the incident demonstrated a bias against Christians in Britain.
The chief executive of the Christian Concern campaign group, Andrea Williams said: “One of my favourite things as I commute to work is to hear Harmonie’s beautiful worship.
“She blesses tens of thousands of people in the same way and brings harmony to the streets. We need more of this, not less. It is shocking that she has been treated like this.”
On Monday, the Metropolitan Police confirmed the veracity of the video, saying that it was filmed on Oxford Street in London over the weekend.
“At the heart of this is a specific by-law related to busking,” the force said. Without saying whether the law had been broken, the Met merely added: “The officer knows she could have handled this differently and is speaking to her manager.”
The London police force went on to admonish the public for criticising the officer: “We’re aware of significant social media commentary. Some of the comments are personal and hurtful. This is unacceptable.”
The incident is by no means a one-off, however, with multiple street preachers being arrested in the UK for spreading Christian messages, which some apparently found offensive, such as asserting that God intended families to be comprised of a man and a wife rather than two people of the same gender.
Over the past year, police have also arrested multiple Christians for silently praying in their head outside abortion clinics. In instance filmed in March of last year, a police officer claimed that “engaging in prayer” outside the abortion facility was an “offence”.