An anti-abortion campaigner at the centre of a free speech controversy involving the US government has been found guilty of breaching a “buffer zone” outside a Bournemouth abortion clinic.
Livia Tossici-Bolt was convicted at Poole Magistrates’ Court of two charges of breaching the Public Spaces Protection Order (PSPO) on two days in March 2023.
The case involved the 64-year-old from Bournemouth holding a sign saying “Here to talk, if you want”.
Her case was highlighted by the Bureau of Democracy, Human Rights, & Labour (DRL), a bureau within the US Department of State, which posted a statement on X saying: “We are monitoring her case. It is important that the UK respect and protect freedom of expression.”
District Judge Orla Austin told the court of the defendant: “She lacks insight that her presence could have a detrimental effect on the women attending the clinic, their associates, staff and members of the public.”
She added: “I accept her beliefs were truly held beliefs. Although it’s accepted this defendant held pro-life views, it’s important to note this case is not about the rights and wrongs about abortion but about whether the defendant was in breach of the PSPO (Public Spaces Protection Order).”
Rosalind Comyn, defending, said: “The council hasn’t produced any evidence that Ms Tossici-Bolt was in fact either observed by any service user or any other forms of harm were caused by her behaviour.
“My point is not that breaches can never cause harm, rather that there is no evidence that Ms Tossici-Bolt’s conduct did in this case.”
She added the defendant had no previous convictions.
Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole Council welcomed Tossici-Bolt’s conviction, stating that the buffer zone enacted in 2022 was there so patients and staff “could safely access” the clinic “without fear of intimidation”.
A spokesperson added: “We will continue to monitor any alleged breaches of this PSPO and will take appropriate action when necessary.”
Tossici-Bolt, a retired medical scientist, previously said she was grateful to the US State Department “for taking note of my case”.
“Great Britain is supposed to be a free country, yet I’ve been dragged through court merely for offering consensual conversation,” she said.
“Peaceful expression is a fundamental right – no-one should be criminalised for harmless offers to converse.”
She added: “It is tragic to see that the increase of censorship in this country has made the US feel it has to remind us of our shared values and basic civil liberties.”
The Telegraph previously quoted a source “familiar with trade negotiations” between the UK and US as saying that there should be “no free trade without free speech”.
However, Business Secretary Jonathan Reynolds said that free speech had not been part of tariff negotiations with the US.
The British Pregnancy Advisory Service (Bpas) said the case was “never about global politics”, but was instead about women being able to “access legal healthcare free from harassment”.
Bpas’s chief executive Heidi Stewart said: “Bpas welcomes today’s verdict which will protect women and the staff who provide abortion care.
“The clinic in Bournemouth has been subjected to decades of anti-abortion protests which resulted in more than 500 reports of harassment before this local safe access zone was brought into force.
“This case was never about global politics but about the simple ability of women to access legal healthcare free from harassment.”
