A Christian street preacher who had his Bible confiscated during a wrongful arrest has received £2,500 compensation from the Metropolitan Police. Oluwole Ilesanmi, 64, was detained outside Southgate Tube station in February after a 999 caller alleged he had made Islamophobic remarks.
Footage of the arrest, which shows Mr Ilesanmi pleading with officers not to take his Bible, has been viewed nearly three million times online. In the video, an officer tells him: 'You should've thought about that before being racist.' Mr Ilesanmi admits describing Islam as an 'aberration' but says he was expressing his Christian viewpoint rather than denigrating Muslims.
The Met has since acknowledged the arrest was wrongful and agreed to pay damages for the 'humiliating and distressing treatment'. Superintendent Neil Billany said the force respects freedom of speech but must investigate potential hate crimes, even if actions are later deemed non-criminal.
Mr Ilesanmi said: 'I am glad that the police have recognised that it was not right to arrest me for preaching from the Bible. It was traumatic, but I was determined to get back to Southgate and start preaching again.' He is due to hand a petition to the Home Office, signed by 38,000 people, calling for greater protection for street preachers.
