Life has been awarded £5000 defamation damages from Lambeth Council in an agreed settlement.
The charity took legal action after it was expelled from the Lambeth Country Show last summer and after a Lambeth councillor and the council itself tweeted that inaccurate information had been given when the booking was made.
Lambeth Council has also publicly apologised for the inaccurate statements about Life’s original application to be part of the country show.
In a statement read in the High Court, Life’s lawyers spoke about the distress to staff and volunteers at being evicted on the second day of the show last summer.
Lambeth Councillor Ed Davie tweeted that Life had attended the Show without permission, and pledged to ensure they were not there on the second day. Mr Davie and Lambeth Council then tweeted that inaccurate information was used to make the booking.
“All these statements were untrue. Life had provided accurate and detailed information about its organisation, and its exhibits on the stall when it was booked several months before the show. Its presence had been fully approved.
“These false claims by Lambeth, which were repeated in the London and national press, could have caused serious harm to Life’s reputation and undermined the charity’s wide-ranging work,” the charity said.
Speaking outside court, Liz Parsons, Life's head of advocacy, said: "What we have seen today is Life declaring that it will stand up to any and all attempts to shut down our right to express pro-life points of view, and reach out to women in crisis who need our support. Lambeth's agreement to settle this matter through payment of damages is a victory for common sense and freedom of expression, in a climate where the pro-life voice is being shut down by local authorities across the country.
"We want to be clear. We are going nowhere. For almost five decades, we have stood firm in our provision of support for women and advocacy for the life of the unborn. Our stall at Lambeth sought to educate people about the unborn baby and advertise our services for pregnant women, including those who are homeless, or in need of emotional and practical support. We must and we will challenge any organisation which tries in any way to impede this important work. We will continue to advertise our services at events around the country. We refuse to be intimidated. We refuse to be shut down. We refuse to flinch or cower away in silence. We declare our right to freedom of expression. And we refuse to go away."
In his witness statement to the court, Life's chief executive Stephen Sharpe said: "The Show took place on 21 and 22 July 2018. Life attended the first day of the Show as planned. However, prior to the Show opening on day two, Life was expelled from the Show. This was a distressing experience for the staff and volunteers of Life who attended on the day. No effort was made by Lambeth to contact Life (including via emergency contact details we had been asked to supply) and communicate or explain their decision ahead of time. The reasons for the decision were unclear to us."
The Life stand at Lambeth Country Show, before the charity was evicted.
Life had applied to exhibit at the show at the beginning of last year, with full disclosure as to who they are as a charity. The application was approved in April.
They provided the show organisers with information about the stall, pictures of similar exhibits they ran in different locations in London last year and a link to their charity website. They stated as their objectives at the show, to educate people about the awe and wonder of life before birth and to promote their counselling, housing and practical support services to vulnerable women in crisis.
On Saturday they had a successful day but as the evening progressed, a few people became aggressively vocal about their stall and challenged them.
On arrival Sunday morning, charity staff and volunteers found their marquee and all of their possessions taken down and completely removed from Life’s pitch.
A council spokesman said: "Lambeth Council and Life reached a settlement on October 12, 2018 in relation to threatened claims arising from the removal of Life’s stall from the 2018 Lambeth Country Show. Lambeth agreed to pay Life £5,000 in damages, publish an apology on Twitter and has undertaken not to publish, or cause to be published, the same or similar words to those originally tweeted by the Council on July 22, 2018."
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