PoliceCalled on Pastor Preaching Against The LGBTQ Community in A Pennsylvania Church
Pastor Peter Simpson was approached by street wardens and the police
An outspoken church pastor was accused of hate speech while preaching about the LGBT community in High Wycombe town centre - prompting the police to be called.
Controversial pastor Peter Simpson, of the Penn Free Methodist Church, was "preaching the gospel" in High Wycombe High Street on December 19 - but his comments, about the LGBT community, caught the attention of the authorities.
A report of the event on the Penn church's website claimed Pastor Simpson was approached by two uniformed Buckinghamshire Council street wardens, who asked him for his name and address, leaving him "flabbergasted”.
They reportedly told him his details would be handed to the police after he was identified by a member of the public as having "expressed hate crime sentiments on a previous occasion" in High Wycombe and that if he refused, he would be committing an offence.
Two police cars then arrived, with an officer reportedly saying there had been a further complaint about "inappropriate comments".
They also asked for his personal details so he could be interviewed about what he had been saying, which Pastor Simpson said he gave them.
The church's report said: "As no crime had been committed, and there was no citation of any words actually spoken by Pastor Simpson (and so no evidence), and since the police had not personally witnessed any wrongdoing, one suspects that there was no legal obligation at all to give out personal contact details.
"Nevertheless, the attitude and demeanour of the police was such that the minister felt it wiser to comply, although he is aware that a number of fellow open air preachers would have refused to do so in such circumstances."
In the past, Pastor Simpson garnered significant criticism for his views - he has outwardly condemned plans and policies that he believes are offensive to Christianity, including the LGBT community, Pride celebrations, Halloween celebrations, Sunday trading hours and the RAF’s proposal to ban women from wearing skirts on parade.
Audience and Content Editor
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