Reform UK deputy Richard Tice has demanded a new Free Speech Bill after a woman arrested for silently praying near an abortion clinic won a £13,000 pay-out after being arrested over a thought crime.

A Christian charity volunteer received the payout and an apology from the police after arguing that her arrest breached her human rights.

Isabel Vaughan-Spruce accused West Midlands Police of two wrongful arrests, false imprisonments, assault and battery after an intrusive home search, and a breach of her human rights.

She was first arrested in November 2022 for silently praying within an abortion clinic “buffer zone”, enforced by the Public Spaces Protection Order which bans all expressions of “approval or disapproval with respect to issues related to abortion services, by any means within the zone.

Following this week’s payout, Reform deputy Richard Tice has told the Express that Ms Vaughan-Spruce’s arrest is “another clear example of two-tier policing in the UK”.

The top MP blasted: “Nobody should be criminalised for their thoughts. It is right that she has received compensation from the police.

“This case is yet another reason why we need a Free Speech Bill that would prevent such ridiculous arrests from taking place in the first place.

“It is becoming increasingly difficult to deny that mainstream Christian beliefs are not treated fairly by our elites, while other beliefs are given privileged status.

“This is especially worrying in light of the Home Secretary saying Labour will crack down on people ‘pushing harmful and hateful beliefs’.

“Yvette Cooper should answer: does she include mainstream Christian beliefs in this category?”

His fury at the arrest of Ms Vaughan-Spruce was matched by top Tory Lord Frost, who hailed her exoneration this week as a major victory against censorship.

However he wants that suggestions the Government may ban silent prayer outside abortion clinics would represent an attack on both free speech and free thought.

He told the Telegraph: “It is incredible that people have been arrested for thought crime in modern Britain. I am very glad Ms Vaughan-Spruce has received compensation for her unjust arrest for this so-called offence.

“But if a recent report is correct that the Government is considering formally criminalising silent prayer outside abortion centres, then there will be further such cases, and then not just freedom of speech but freedom of thought will be under threat. It is hard to imagine a more absurd and dangerous situation.

“It would be much better to stick to the sensible approach in the previous Home Secretary’s draft guidance, which proposed a much better balance between the various competing rights and interests.

“If the Government scraps it, then it will be clear to all that its commitment to civil liberties and fundamental freedoms is paper thin.”