A British millionaire has pledged to personally fund legal representation for Christian street preachers who face police action, saying he is “outraged and shocked” by arrests and warning that Britain has developed a “double standard” against Christians.
Businessman Samuel Leeds has committed to paying for legal representation for Christian street preachers targeted by police, telling Truth Times he is “outraged and shocked” to see Christians arrested for preaching “in a Christian country”. In a wide-ranging exclusive interview, Mr. Leeds warned that Britain has developed a “double standard” against Christians, called for the country to “turn back to God”, and argued that pressure on Christianity is coming not from immigrants but from within Britain’s own institutions.
His pledge comes amid growing public debate over the treatment of Christian street preachers in Britain. Recent cases have included Pastor Dia Moodley, who was arrested while preaching in Bristol before police later took no further action, and Pastor Steve Maile, whose arrest while preaching in Watford — over allegations he denies — sparked widespread debate online about freedom of speech and religious expression. Mr Leeds says he wants Christians facing police action to have access to proper legal representation rather than being “simply silenced”.
Explaining his public commitment, Mr. Leeds said the sight of street preachers being detained had moved him to act.
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“I am outraged and shocked to see Christians getting arrested on the streets and being told that they’re offensive for preaching about Jesus when we are living in a Christian country,” he told Truth Times. “We see Christians being persecuted all over the world, but seeing it happen in Great Britain — seeing the disdain, the hatred and now the oppression of Christian voices — really bothers me.”
Having been successful in business, he said, he felt it was “only right and appropriate for me to put my hand in my pocket and help these people.” His aim, he explained, is to ensure Christians receive “proper legal representation rather than simply being silenced by police officers who sometimes overstep the mark and don’t even understand the law themselves.”
“Where Christians are being unfairly targeted simply for preaching their faith, I’m prepared to put my money behind defending them.”
Asked whether it was fair that highly sexualized advertising and near-nudity draw little scrutiny while a preacher reading from the Bible can face police intervention, Mr. Leeds was blunt.
“No, it’s not fair. Britain has definitely developed a double standard,” he said. “We’re a Christian country that’s tolerant of everybody and every religion — apart from, increasingly, Christians themselves.”
Mr. Leeds has previously declared that “the only hope for Great Britain now is turning back to God and repenting on its knees” — a statement he stands by.
“God blesses us when we follow His principles in the Bible,” he said. “I’m a Christian. I’m not perfect by any stretch of the imagination. But when you turn your back on God, take His name in vain and openly mock Jesus Christ, which has become so normal in Britain, you cannot then expect everything to continue prospering without consequences.”
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