A British millionaire has pledged to personally fund legal representation for Christian street preachers who face police action, saying he is “outraged and shocked” by arrests and warning that Britain has developed a “double standard” against Christians.
Businessman Samuel Leeds has committed to paying for legal representation for Christian street preachers targeted by police, telling Truth Times he is “outraged and shocked” to see Christians arrested for preaching “in a Christian country”. In a wide-ranging exclusive interview, Mr. Leeds warned that Britain has developed a “double standard” against Christians, called for the country to “turn back to God”, and argued that pressure on Christianity is coming not from immigrants but from within Britain’s own institutions.
His pledge comes amid growing public debate over the treatment of Christian street preachers in Britain. Recent cases have included Pastor Dia Moodley, who was arrested while preaching in Bristol before police later took no further action, and Pastor Steve Maile, whose arrest while preaching in Watford — over allegations he denies — sparked widespread debate online about freedom of speech and religious expression. Mr Leeds says he wants Christians facing police action to have access to proper legal representation rather than being “simply silenced”.
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‘Prepared to put my money behind defending them’
Explaining his public commitment, Mr. Leeds said the sight of street preachers being detained had moved him to act.
“I am outraged and shocked to see Christians getting arrested on the streets and being told that they’re offensive for preaching about Jesus when we are living in a Christian country,” he told Truth Times. “We see Christians being persecuted all over the world, but seeing it happen in Great Britain — seeing the disdain, the hatred and now the oppression of Christian voices — really bothers me.”
Having been successful in business, he said, he felt it was “only right and appropriate for me to put my hand in my pocket and help these people.” His aim, he explained, is to ensure Christians receive “proper legal representation rather than simply being silenced by police officers who sometimes overstep the mark and don’t even understand the law themselves.”
“Where Christians are being unfairly targeted simply for preaching their faith, I’m prepared to put my money behind defending them.”
©Tik Tok/samuel_leeds
A ‘double standard’ in modern Britain
Asked whether it was fair that highly sexualized advertising and near-nudity draw little scrutiny while a preacher reading from the Bible can face police intervention, Mr. Leeds was blunt.
“No, it’s not fair. Britain has definitely developed a double standard,” he said. “We’re a Christian country that’s tolerant of everybody and every religion — apart from, increasingly, Christians themselves.”
‘The only hope for Great Britain’
Mr. Leeds has previously declared that “the only hope for Great Britain now is turning back to God and repenting on its knees” — a statement he stands by.
“God blesses us when we follow His principles in the Bible,” he said. “I’m a Christian. I’m not perfect by any stretch of the imagination. But when you turn your back on God, take His name in vain and openly mock Jesus Christ, which has become so normal in Britain, you cannot then expect everything to continue prospering without consequences.”
Quoting scripture — “the wages of sin is death” — he argued that turning away from what he called God’s principles carries a cost. “The UK is in a mess right now. No matter who you vote for or who’s in power, ultimately, the real answer is that people need to turn back to God.”
PHOTO: Pastor Dia Moodley was arrested by UK police in November 2025 (Photos: ADF International)
Is there a deliberate agenda?
Pressed on whether he believes a deliberate campaign against Christianity is under way in Britain, Mr. Leeds stopped short of alleging a coordinated plot — but said the country’s direction of travel troubles him.
He pointed to the historical suppression of Christianity in communist states, arguing that “it is much harder to have complete control over somebody who has strong morals and believes that their ultimate accountability is to God rather than the state.” In his view, Britain is “heading towards an increasingly state-controlled society, almost communist in certain respects.”
Yet he also sees grounds for optimism. “There’s a revival happening. There’s a U-turn taking place. People are waking up and people are coming back to God,” he said. “Is there one deliberate, coordinated agenda against Christianity? I’m not sure. What I am sure about is the direction we’re heading in — and I find it deeply concerning.”
Recent polling lends some weight to his talk of a revival. Figures from YouGov’s bi-annual tracker show that belief in God among 18 to 24-year-olds has almost tripled in just three and a half years, rising from 16 per cent in August 2021 to 45 per cent in January 2025. Among 25 to 49-year-olds, belief has risen more modestly over the same period, from 21 per cent to 33 per cent.
Church attendance is also on the rise. Two YouGov polls, conducted in 2018 and 2024, recorded a 56 per cent increase in UK adults attending church at least once a month — up from eight per cent to 12 per cent, with weddings, baptisms and funerals excluded from the figures. That shift means the total number of monthly churchgoers grew from 3.7 million to 5.8 million people in just six years
On the King, multiculturalism and national identity
Responding to King Charles’s recent update to his official role, in which the monarch stated he seeks to “protect the space for faith within our multi-faith nation”, Mr. Leeds argued that Britain’s leaders have become “embarrassed to stand firmly on the Christian roots of our country” for fear of causing offence.
“We absolutely should be tolerant and inclusive of people of all religions and faiths. Everybody should have the right to their own personal beliefs,” he said. “But the way our leaders pander and seem afraid to offend anybody is ridiculous.”
Drawing a comparison with traveling abroad, he added: “If I go to a Muslim country, I will respect Islam. I certainly wouldn’t be offended by hearing about Islam because I’m visiting a Muslim country. That’s completely reasonable. Britain is a Christian country. We shouldn’t have to apologize for that.”
He likened the attitude to suggestions that displaying an English flag could be seen as insufficiently inclusive. “It’s this kind of ridiculousness and wokeness that’s damaging our country. We can respect everybody without being ashamed of who we are. Tolerance does not mean surrendering your own identity.”
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* Copyright TruthTimes.com, reprinted by permission. Click here to find the original report in its entirety.
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