UK Home Secretary – head of all police – admits that “silent prayer, within itself, is not unlawful.” As a result of this self-evident statement, charges were dropped against a woman whose crime was standing in silent prayer outside an abortion center.

We should all be grateful that His Majesty’s Government is taking a brief vacation from inquiring into its subjects’ thoughts. But don’t feel superior. The Brits have a strong tradition of free speech, but no written constitution. We have a written Constitution, which puts free speech at the top of the Bill of Rights. And we too have arrested people for praying outside abortion centers. Not necessarily blocking the entrances, just giving women a moment to think before entering.

Go to almost any university. Talk to students. Many will express the notion that some ideas are too conservative to be allowed. That’s what they were taught, paid for by their parents taking out a second mortgage.

‘This isn’t 1984, but 2023’: Christian arrested for silent prayer learns fate