Evangelical Alliance adds to Christian objections over Belfast council proposals to restrict the right to preach or protest to permit-buyers

The Nolan Show on Thursday devoted a second day of coverage to the issue, during which a prominent Christian lawyer, Michael Phillips, restated concerns he had expressed earlier to the News Letter that the move is part of an “avalanche” of attacks on the rights of people to voice contentious views – adding that the laws would prohibit Jesus Christ himself from speaking, on the basis that his comment could offend people.

The proposals would essentially mean that anyone wanting to use an amplification device in the city centre would have to buy a permit.

The same would apply to anyone wanting to set up a stall to hand out leaflets.

If you have purchased a permit, then it will entitle you to operate from a spot for two hours, after which you must pack up and move 100 metres in a different direction, and set up there instead.

It is not yet clear whether council officials or councillors themselves will directly control the permits.

If the latter, then it raises the possibility that Sinn Fein – as by far the biggest party on the council – could effectively have a veto over who can say what in the city centre.

Even if control is delegated to officials, those officials may well be susceptible to pressure from political factions on the council.

The permit rules would also give the council the power to impose unspecified “conditions” on permit holders, which it can change at any time.

The council says the permit scheme has arisen because it has “encountered issues in recent years relating to loud busking, religious preaching and various other activities involving the use of amplification devices and/or the display of graphic imagery in the city centre”.

The latter is a veiled reference to anti-abortion protestors, whose materials sometimes contain images of what the abortion process looks like.

Head of the Evangelical Alliance in Northern Ireland Michael Smyth has now told the News Letter: “Our starting point is that we are thankful for the amazing freedoms we have in this country to express our beliefs and faith.

"We want to inhabit and share the public square as good citizens and neighbours. The consultation raises at least three key issues.

“The first is a procedural question about how to regulate noise levels and stalls in the city. These are reasonable questions about how the city centre can be shared by everyone.

“The second question is around the content of what people are saying or the images they are displaying.

"Some parties have framed this as a consultation on ‘hate preachers’. While people of faith, or none, may say or display things which others find offensive the council can’t override or limit freedom of speech or expression in a way that is not legitimate or proportionate in line with the European Convention on Human Rights.

"We have concerns that this is an attempt by some to restrict freedom of speech and expression in ways which go far beyond the existing legal prohibitions around incitement to hatred, harassment or communications which are grossly offensive.

“Finally there are questions of tone, style and behaviour.

"There is nothing wrong with contending for the truth, or challenging the culture around us, but this is not about winning a culture war, it’s about witnessing to Christ and winning people to Him.

“We would encourage followers of Jesus to be mindful, responsible and creative when it comes to their tone and language.”