Street preacher faces arrest after reading Bible in public

Miguel Hayworth, 29, has been a street preacher in the city for the last five years. He said he was approached by several police officers whilst preaching in St Ann’s Square at the end of July, according to The Telegraph. He was accompanied by his father at the time, who was handing out gospel tracts to passers-by.

"At 2pm, I was approached on more than one occasion by several police officers who falsely accused me, stating that I was inciting hatred with homophobic and racial comments," Mr Hayworth was quoted as saying by the newspaper.

"One plain-clothed officer, who was with the other two uniformed officers, said: 'It is against the law to preach and hand out tracts: preaching causes offence and handing out tracts is harassment and could result in an arrest.'"

Excerpts from the King James version of the Bible read aloud by Mr Hayworth included Romans 1.27 - in which Paul speaks of men who, “leaving the natural use of the woman, burned in their lust one toward another; men with men working that which is unseemly” – and 1 Corinthians 6.9, in which Paul warns that the unrighteous shall not inherit the kingdom of God.

A second police officer came at 2.30pm and warned Mr Hayworth again that inciting religious and racial hatred was an arrestable offence.

Mr Hayworth stopped preaching after the officer also warned him that his actions were being videoed and recorded, according to The Telegraph.

He has sought advice from the Christian Legal Centre, which has appointed human rights barrister Paul Diamond to his case.

The Director of the Christian Legal Centre, Andrea Minichiello Williams, criticised the policemen’s treatment of Mr Hayworth and his father in a letter to the Chief Constable of Greater Manchester, Peter Fahy.

"They were clearly told that reading the Bible and preaching can be offensive and that they could be arrested," she wrote.

"Furthermore, they were subjected to abuse and intimidation. They were told that they were being monitored and filmed.”