An anti-abortion group was evicted from a family festival after setting up a stand displaying models of foetuses.
Council officials ordered campaigners Life to leave the Lambeth Country Show yesterday after visitors complained that the stall was inappropriate.
The stand, which a Lambeth council chief claimed “wasn’t officially allowed”, included plastic replicas of unborn babies at various stages of development. An estimated 150,000 people attended the free event, held over the weekend at Brockwell Park.
Ed Davie, Lambeth’s cabinet member for health, tweeted in response to complaints about the stall: “It wasn’t officially allowed. They were not on the approved list of exhibitors, we tried to get them removed and will make sure they are not there today.”
He added: “It’s a community festival — that includes women who have had to make really hard family planning decisions who don’t want plastic foetuses in their faces.” The row comes after Ealing council won a High Court ruling upholding a ban on pro-life campaigners gathering outside a Marie Stopes abortion clinic. Mr Davie indicated that Lambeth planned to impose similar restrictions.
Teacher Katie Stacey, 26, who attended the show on Saturday, said: “Lambeth council should have done their research into who this group were. Considering Ealing council have taken steps to protect areas around abortion clinics it seems a like a questionable move to allow a group like that into a family event.
“The country show is a family event where people should feel safe and not feel attacked for their right to choose a perfectly legal medical procedure.”
Another woman said: “I had to have an abortion for medical reasons some years ago. I don’t feel it is appropriate for a community event.”
Life said it was considering legal action against “censorship”. The group, which claims to be the largest pro-life enterprise in the country, said: “We were given no reason for why we were banned, just told to email the council. They were so nervous of saying anything and were very apologetic and embarrassed at making us leave.”
