Street evangelist Allen Coote was arrested outside St Paul's Cathedral for reading the Bible aloud. No members of the public complained: it was cathedral staff who reported him. Allen believes the cathedral’s subsequent concession to allow him just 30 minutes’ speaking time per week was unreasonable and said, ‘The Bible tells us to go into all the world and preach the Gospel to everyone. Now, there are many people on the concourse of St Paul's who come from all the nations of the world, and I was just basically reading what they should hear. Some of them were really pleased to stop and just listen to me.’ The cathedral has a policy to limit any ‘source of disturbance’ outside its doors, in order to offer visitors a ‘welcoming space’. Alan is now supporting a campaign by the Barnabas Fund which is calling on Parliament to pass a new law which specifically protects the right to proclaim the Bible in public.

Jared O'Mara spoke for the first time in the House of Commons, ‘I was elected a year ago as Hallam's first Labour MP but due to mistakes I made - for which I am truly sorry, I hurt a lot of people - I've been unable to speak in the House with confidence until now.’ He spoke of his pride in representing disabled people, as Parliament's ‘first autistic MP, with cerebral palsy and other disabilities’. He also spoke of what can be learned from the teachings of Jesus, although he considers himself ‘a man of science.’ He said, ‘Jesus was a man who forgave those who truly repented, and he shares my belief that our utmost human priority should be helping those who are most disadvantaged and vulnerable amongst us.’ MPs usually gather around their newly elected colleague for maiden speeches, but Jared stood alone at the end of the rear opposition bench.

The BBC has to pay Sir Cliff Richard £850,000 to cover legal costs, following his privacy case against them. He had already been awarded £210,000 damages when the court ruled that the BBC infringed his privacy when reporting a 2014 police raid on his home. Sir Cliff was never charged or arrested. The BBC is also going to pay £315,000 to South Yorkshire Police for legal costs. However the BBC is seeking leave to appeal against the judgment, and wants to challenge Sir Cliff’s right to privacy while a suspect in a police investigation - trumping the broadcaster's right to freedom of expression to publish his name and cover the raid. Lord Patten, former chairman of the BBC Trust, said the BBC would be ‘crazy’ to appeal against the High Court's ruling in this case, saying they should ‘swallow hard, say they made a mistake, apologise, as they have, to Cliff Richard and not to do it again’. See https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/av/uk-44884477/cliff-richard-bbc-would-be-crazy-to-appeal-lord-patten

In February we reported that anti-Semitic hate crimes in the UK had hit a record high, prompting prayers for more visible and frequent prosecutions for such incidents. The Jewish community was targeted almost four times a day last year, which also saw the highest tally of incidents since data gathering began. Three-quarters of all anti-Semitic incidents were in London and Manchester, where most Jewish communities live. Hatred is rising, and Jewish people are suffering as a result. This should concern everybody because it shows anger and division, threatening all society. In 2015 the international community agreed on a definition of anti-Semitism. The UK’s Labour party has not signed up to it, saying its own code of conduct already covers the definition. On 23 July Labour MPs and peers backed the international definition. Jeremy Corbyn disagrees.