UK & Ireland in Brief

A number of Christian organisations in the UK have been seeking to mobilise people to pray and fast for three days.

The “Turn the Battle” campaign has been aiming to see “the whole body humbling itself under God’s mighty hand and a committing to three days of contending prayer and fasting” from 21 to 23 January.

Among those supporting the initiative are Holy Trinity Brompton and the HTB network, the Evangelical Alliance, the Assemblies of God, the New Testament Church of God, Pioneer, Fusion, Catalyst, 24/7 Prayer, Prayer Storm, World Prayer Centre, Premier Radio, UCB and God TV.

EAUK

Bet365 founder Denise Coates took home around £280 million in pay and dividends last year, it has been reported.

Latest figures from the Gambling Commission show that 2.7% of adults in the UK (around 1.4 million people) experience problem gambling.

Will Prochaska, the Director of the Coalition to End Gambling Ads, stated: “Families up and down the country are being torn apart to deliver profits for big gambling corporations.”

Christian Institute

A London primary school teacher was banned from working with children after telling a Muslim pupil that Britain is still a Christian state.

The incident prompted a referral to the local safeguarding board and the involvement of a senior Metropolitan Police detective, who examined whether a hate crime had been committed. No charges were brought, and the Metropolitan Police later dropped the case.

Despite the dropped police action, the teacher faced a professional ban from working with children. He challenged the decision and ultimately succeeded in having the prohibition overturned. The teacher is now suing the local authority responsible for his dismissal, with backing from the Free Speech Union. He has since secured part-time work at another school outside London.

Care

The Evangelical Alliance (EA) has outlined what it calls “five key missional trends for 2026”.

Evangelism and missiology senior specialist at the EA, Phil Knox (pictured), says that “2026 will be the most spiritually open year in living memory”. Secondly, he says, “2026 will see spiritual experiences, dreams and unexplained events drawing thousands to church”. As a result, thirdly, churches will need “to better join the dots between compassion ministry and faith sharing”. Fourthly, he predicts, “Bible sales will continue to soar, with seekers turning up to church having done their theological research.”

Finally, Knox says, “2026 will see more people coming to faith through new pathways, so good answers about what’s next in their discipleship journey will be essential”.

EAUK

A Christian woman was due to appear in court on 29 January, after being charged under controversial buffer zone legislation that restricts certain activities near abortion clinics.

Isabel Vaughan-Spruce was criminally charged after praying silently near an abortion facility in Birmingham, following several previous arrests which did not result in conviction.

The case is the first confirmed charge under Section 9 of the Public Order Act 2023, which came into force nationally in October 2024.

The legislation prohibits influencing a person’s decision to access, provide, or facilitate abortion services within 150 metres of abortion facilities. The law does not explicitly reference silent prayer.

Care

Scotland’s First Minister John Swinney is facing increasing criticism after reports emerged that his Government has made a behind-the-scenes attempt to limit the impact of the Supreme Court’s landmark ruling on sex and women’s spaces.

In 2025, the Supreme Court ruled unanimously that the terms “man” and “woman” in the Equality Act 2010 refer to biological sex, not gender identity.

Despite publicly stating that the Scottish Government accepts the ruling, ministers have now asked a court to consider whether applying it fully in prisons would breach the human rights of transgender inmates.

According to reports, the Government is seeking a “declaration of incompatibility”, a rarely used legal mechanism that could prevent the ruling from being enforced in the prison system.

Care

The British Pregnancy Advisory Service (BPAS), a leading abortion charity which provides abortions for the NHS, has come under criticism from campaigners. On their website, the BPAS claim that sex-selective abortions are not illegal, something which anti-abortion advocates have labelled as “irresponsible”. BPAS provide around 100,000 abortions to women each year, nearly half of the abortions in the UK.

Catherine Robinson from Right to Life UK described BPAS’s advice as “irresponsible because it risks normalising sex-selective terminations and is likely encouraging abortions sought purely because of a baby’s sex” and argued that women would find it harder to “push back” against pressure to abort a girl as a result.

Care

A new role of “Gender Medicine” GP is to be established, the NHS has announced.

Adopting the recommendation from Dr David Levy’s recent review of Adult Gender Clinics, the NHS claimed gender GPs would help “improve productivity” and allow gender-confused adults to be discharged into their care from specialist clinics more quickly. Sex Matters CEO Maya Forstater expressed astonishment that while Levy’s review catalogued “the many gross failings of adult gender clinics”, he had recommended “the process of assessment and treatment be standardised and accelerated”. She called the proposal “a wasted opportunity to rethink a failed treatment model”.

Christian Institute

The president of the Darlington Nursing Union says the verdict of Newcastle Employment Tribunal in a landmark case is a “victory for common sense and every woman who simply wants to feel safe at work”.

Bethany Hutchison was speaking after the tribunal ruled that “complaints of indirect sex discrimination” against County Durham and Darlington NHS Foundation Trust were “well founded and succeed” after a group of nurses were required to share a female-only changing room with a biological male who identifies as a woman.

However, it also said that several other “complaints of harassment” and “victimisation” were “not well founded and are dismissed.” Hutchison said women deserved access to single-sex spaces “without fear or intimidation” and “forcing” them to undress in front of transgender colleagues was “not only degrading but dangerous”.

As en went to press, the trust was still reviewing the judgement before making a response.

en staff