A Christian street preacher arrested in Rotherham town centre after asking a Muslim about the Quran’s teaching on domestic violence has said he has been vindicated after charges against him were dropped.
Former miner John Steele, 60, was arrested and told he faced a non-crime hate incident on his record after a discussion with a Muslim woman in the south Yorkshire town.
Steele, who is being supported by lawyers at the Christian Legal Centre, was arrested on June 21 after engaging in a 30-second conversation with a Muslim woman wearing a hijab at a public awareness stall offering support to ethnic minority women experiencing domestic abuse.
Representatives for the former miner and long-serving bus driver, who has preached the gospel in public spaces for 25 years without incident, told GB News that he asked the woman at the stall about Islamic teachings on wife-beating.
GB News understands that he was referring to controversial verses in the Quran about the role of women in Islamic marriages.
Steele’s representatives said that he then discussed Christian teachings with her, claiming that biblical passages deliver a different perspective on how husbands treat their wives.
He said that the conversation was brief and polite.
But despite the non-threatening nature of the exchange, an hour later, he was surrounded by several police officers who demanded his personal details and threatened him with arrest if he failed to comply.
SOUTH YORKSHIRE POLICE/GB NEWS
|South Yorkshire Police footage shows the moment John Steele was arrested
The incident was captured by a police bodyworn camera.
During the exchange, Steele can be heard to say: “The world has gone mad.”
“This is the world we live in,” responded one police officer, who added: “I think it was your delivery.”
Steele is filmed saying that he “asked a simple question” of the woman at the stall.
The police officer responded that his question was “anti-social” and that he was required to provide his name and address as the police officer had “reason to believe” that he had been “engaging in anti-social behaviour.”
“I haven’t behaved in an anti-social behaviour [manner]”, Steele said. “That’s your opinion,” the officer responded.
SOUTH YORKSHIRE POLICE/GB NEWS
|The arrest was captured by a police bodyworn camera
A police officer later confirmed that they were recording “a hate incident” over the exchange and that they “require details to report that.”
“I am not admitting to something I have not done,” Steele said, “what you are doing is threatening me”.
The police pushed back against the allegation and said: “We’re saying you behaved in an anti-social manner because [the woman] felt harassed, alarmed or distressed by your behaviour.”
During the interaction, one female police officer is recorded saying to another officer: “Common sense might prevail when we do lock him up.”
The footage ends with Steele being arrested.
After refusing to give his details, Mr Steele was then led away to a police car.
His representatives said that he was taken to Rotherham police station, where he was detained, fingerprinted, and DNA-swabbed.
SOUTH YORKSHIRE POLICE/GB NEWS
|The footage ends with Steele being arrested
A court date was set, but the Crown Prosecution Service has since discontinued the case, stating that prosecution was “not needed in the public interest.”
Commenting on his experience and vindication, Steele said he felt degraded after being treated like a criminal.
“I’ve spent my life trying to help people find hope and forgiveness through Jesus Christ. I’ve seen the devastation caused by abuse, and I wanted to speak truth in love. Instead, I was treated like a criminal.”
A former heavy drinker and militant during the 1984 miners’ strike, he became a born-again Christian in 1987 after reading a psalm.
Since then, he has dedicated his life to sharing the gospel, often at personal cost.
Reflecting on the experience of the arrest, he told GB News: “I was shocked and gobsmacked. How can asking a question be labelled as hate?
“Hate is a strong word. If I haven’t done anything wrong, why was I treated like a criminal? I couldn’t get my head round it.
“It was degrading. They took my DNA and fingerprints, for what? A 30-second conversation.
“This wasn’t about me. It’s about the erosion of our hard-won freedoms and the right to speak truth in love.
“I’ve never been arrested in 25 years. I wasn’t there to cause trouble, I was there out of love, to share hope and to help people understand the love of Christ.
“When I heard the charges were dropped, I was relieved, but also angry. So much time, energy, and stress wasted for nothing.
“I go out because people are hurting. I won’t let fear silence the gospel.
“This country was built on the Bible. We need boldness and must not be intimidated in this hour.”
SOUTH YORKSHIRE POLICE/GB NEWS
|Steele vowed that he 'won’t let fear silence the gospel'
Andrea Williams, Chief Executive of the Christian Legal Centre, told GB News: “We welcome the fact that this case has now been dropped, but it should never have progressed as far as it did.
“This is a clear and disturbing example of two-tier policing. It is disturbing that officers can threaten members of the public with so-called ‘non-crime hate incidents’ simply for expressing lawful and peaceful views.
“The irony could not be more striking: a Christian preacher is arrested for questioning Islamic beliefs in the very town where police failed for years to protect vulnerable girls and gave special protection to the local Muslim community.
“South Yorkshire Police are once again undermining public trust. We will be investigating whether a ‘hate incident’ has been wrongly recorded against John’s name, despite his complete vindication.”
A spokesperson for South Yorkshire Police said: “On 21 June, while on patrol in Rotherham town centre, officers were approached by a woman who reported that a man approached her and was acting in an intimidating way.
“Officers located a man matching the description given by the woman and requested his details to record a non-crime hate incident (NCHI).
“The man refused to provide his details following several requests from officers who explained the consequences of not doing so. Following this, he was arrested under Section 50 of the Police Reform Act 2002.
“A case file was submitted to the Crown Prosecution Service and a decision not to authorise charges against the man was made.
“The footage of the incident has been reviewed by both our Professional Standards Department. It has been determined a proportionate response was delivered by officers.”
Our Professional Standards Department has not received a complaint in relation to this incident. We will reflect on this and consider any potential learning.
SOUTH YORKSHIRE POLICE/GB NEWS
|South Yorkshire Police said they had 'reviewed the footage' and determined that 'a proportionate response was delivered by officers'
It has been estimated that over 250,000 NCHIs have been recorded in England and Wales since 2014, an average of 68 per day.
According to guidance issued by the College of Policing, an NCHI is “any non-crime incident which is perceived by the victim or any bystanders to be motivated by hostility or prejudice” based on a ‘protected’ characteristic: race or perceived race, religion or perceived religion, and so on.”
NCHIs have been a source of controversy in recent years.In December 2021, former police officer Harry Miller won a landmark legal battle after he was visited by police officers when he had posted about gender issues on social media.
He was told by police officers to “check his thinking” after his gender-critical post and an NCHI was recorded against him.
Miller challenged Humberside Police’s decision in the High Court and won.
He was also victorious against the College of Policing at the Court of Appeal in a challenge to its controversial guidance.
The court ruled that the vast recording of NCHIs was an unlawful interference in freedom of speech and breached human rights law.