Christian street preacher who was arrested and kept in cell for 19 hours without food after he told two gay men homosexuality is a sin paid £13,000 compensation by policeJohn Craven, 57, sued for unlawful arrest, false imprisonment and human rights breachTold gay men in Manchester street: 'God hates sin but he loves sinner'He was arrested on public order offence but no action taken by policeChristian group finances legal battle and police settle before court
By Martin Robinson 31 March 2014
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Row: John Craven, a Christian preacher, was arrested and kept in police cells for 19 hours after he quoted the Bible's stance on homosexuality at two gay teenagers
A Christian preacher arrested and imprisoned without food and water after he told two gay teenagers the Bible says homosexuality is a sin, has won £13,000 in compensation for poor treatment by police.
John Craven, 57, says he was held by Greater Manchester Police after he told the couple 'God hates sin, but he loves the sinner'.
The young men then kissed in front of him and approached a police officer and claimed Mr Craven's comments were 'insulting' and had caused them 'harassment and distress.'
Mr Craven said he was 'grabbed roughly by the arm' on suspicion of public order offences and later denied food, water and access to medication for his rheumatoid arthritis while in custody for 19 hours.
He was later bailed before being told no action would be taken against him.
'I told them that according to the word of God homosexuality is an abomination. That is not my opinion it is the word of God. I quoted them Revelation chapter 21 verse 8,' he said.
'This made them very upset and they started to do obscene gestures to me. They were deliberately trying to provoke me.
'I have to be very careful in these sort of situations so I did not give my own opinion, I just gave God's word. But they said that I had taunted them and assaulted them verbally and before I knew it the police arrived. I couldn't believe it.
'I have had confrontations with people before when I have been speaking but never anything like this. I did remained calm and co-operative even though I was being handled very roughly by the police officer.'
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Greater Manchester Police said the detention was 'necessary for a prompt and effective investigation' but Mr Craven sued the force for wrongful arrest, false imprisonment and breach of his human rights.
Mr Craven has now been awarded £13,000 in compensation in an out-of-court settlement following a three-year battle, likely to also cost the taxpayer more than £50,000 in legal costs.
The settlement was agreed a few days before the civil case was due in court.
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Incident: Mr Craven said he was on his usual spot in Market Street in the centre of Manchester, when the men approached him to ask his opinion on homosexuality and claims the two men then kissed in front of him before calling for his arrest
Police had arrested him under section 4A of the Public Order Act 1986 which criminalises the use of insulting words with the intention of causing harassment, alarm or distress. If he had been convicted he could have faced up to six months jail.
Mr Craven said: 'It appears that the actions of the police were calculated to give me and other street preachers the impression that we could not preach the gospel in public without breaking the law and if we did we would be arrested.'
The incident occurred on September 17 2011 while Mr Craven was preaching at his regular twice weekly pitch in Market Street.
He was telling a crowd about salvation through Christ and quoting John 3:16, which says: 'For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.'
At 7pm the unnamed gay couple approached him and asked what he thought of gay people.
He said it did not matter what he thought, only what God believes, telling them: 'whilst God hates sin He loves the sinner'.
Mr Craven then claimed the teenagers began kissing in front of him and taunting him with crude and suggestive sexual acts. Shortly afterwards the preacher was arrested.
In his witness statement, Mr Craven said that after the police constable dismounted from his horse, he 'grabbed' him 'roughly by the arm' and said that he was under arrest for 'public order offences'.
Mr Craven said: 'The officer did not ask for my name or address. I remained calm and co-operative even though I was being handled very roughly by the police officer.'
Mr Craven later told the custody officer that he had rheumatoid arthritis for which he takes medicine and asked if his medicine could be brought to him - a request which he says was ignored.
From the time of his arrest at 7.15pm until midnight he was not given anything to eat or drink.
At 9.30am the following morning after almost 15 hours, he was finally given a bowl of cereal and a microwave meal following a complaint to the police by a friend.
Mr Craven was released without charge and given police bail to report to the police station at a later date. He subsequently received a letter confirming that there was no ground for bringing a case against him.
Mr Craven won his damages under the Human Rights Act quoting his entitlement to enjoy the freedom to manifest his religion (Article 9) and freedom of expression, including the freedom to impart information and ideas without interference by a public authority (Article 10).
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Case: A preacher has won £13,000 from Greater Manchester Police, pictured, who arrested him after he told a gay couple the bible said homosexuality is a sin
Colin Hart, Director of The Christian Institute which funded Mr Craven's case said: 'Nobody should face 19 hours in custody for simply answering a question about their beliefs.
'The disgraceful way in which Mr Craven was treated fell well below what the public deserve. In terms of the infringement of religious liberty, it was one of the worst cases we have ever dealt with.
'Freedom of expression is a very basic human right. The very foundations of our liberty depend upon it. I hope that Greater Manchester Police learn lessons for the future from this case and make every effort to ensure that it never happens again.
'I am delighted for Mr Craven that a settlement has been reached.'
Supt Alan Greene of Greater Manchester Police said: 'Greater Manchester Police has reached a settlement with the claimant so we cannot go into detail about the circumstances.
'However, we can acknowledge that we did make mistakes and, in particular, kept the claimant in custody for too long.'
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