Anti-abortion activists set up outside clinic ‘safe zones’ on first day of new law in England

Pro-choice campaigners welcome CPS guidance that ‘silent prayer’ is among the activities prohibited within the 150-metre buffer area

Anti-abortion activists have been taking up positions just outside new buffer zones around reproductive health clinics on the first day of a law coming into effect.

The safe access zones – which were initially approved by MPs in May last year – prohibit actions including the handing-out of anti-abortion leaflets within a 150-metre radius around centres in England and Wales.