Christian singer was ‘humiliated’ after police stopped her singing

A Christian singer has revealed she felt ‘humiliated’, ‘unhappy’ and ‘bullied’ after a particular constable wrongly mentioned she couldn’t ‘sing church songs outdoors of church grounds’

Harmonie London, 20, additionally accused Metropolitan Police volunteer officer Maya Hadzhipetkova of breaching her human proper to freedom of expression and faith.

In an unique interview with MailOnline at this time, Harmonie informed how the officer had threatened to grab her keyboard and audio system if she didn’t cease singing – having already carried out Amazing Grace and the modern music Goodness of God.

It comes as Scotland Yard continues to research Ms Hadzhipetkova and assessment body-worn footage of the stunning incident on Oxford Street in Central London final Sunday. The Met has claimed the row was over a ‘particular bylaw associated to busking’ – whereas Harmonie argues that she was not ‘busking’, however as a substitute ‘sharing the gospel’.

After telling the singer she couldn’t carry out, Ms Hadzhipetkova caught her tongue out on the digicam. Her actions drew widespread condemnation – together with from ex-Conservative minister Ann Widdecombe who mentioned ‘some individuals have gotten an issue on this nation with Christianity which they do not seem to have with different faiths’.

There aren’t any legal guidelines in opposition to singing on pavements, Christian or in any other case – solely council bylaws regarding having a busking licence and never blocking roads – and Harmonie mentioned the incident breached her article 9 rights to freedom of faith.

A piece of the extraordinary trade as onlookers watched on was shared on Instagram by Harmonie – who has vowed to proceed taking part in and singing. Back out on Oxford Street at this time, she mentioned she wished to ‘convey love and peace to the general public’. 

Anti-crime campaigner Norman Brennan condemned the video as ‘not an excellent look’; Christian Concern’s Andrea Williams mentioned it was ‘stunning’; and former Home Office particular adviser Claire Pearsall urged the police to ‘go and take care of precise crime‘.

Harmonie mentioned she has beforehand been visited by Jimmy Choo, Romeo Beckham and Rio Ferdinand – and approached by Jay-Z and Cardi B in addition to Sony Music.

The Met mentioned: ‘We’re reviewing physique worn video of this interplay – it is greater than 40 minutes lengthy. At the center of it is a particular by-law associated to busking. The officer is aware of she might have dealt with this in another way and is talking to her supervisor.’

Detectives added that they have been ‘working to know the context wherein these feedback have been made’ – but in addition condemned among the ‘unacceptable’ posts on social media about Ms Hadzhipetkova which it described as ‘private and hurtful’.

Harmonie London usually performs worship music to passing buyers on Oxford Street and has greater than 300,000 subscribers on YouTube.

But she was stopped on Sunday by Ms Hadzhipetkova and informed: ‘No miss, you are not allowed to sing church songs outdoors of church grounds, by the way in which.’

As onlookers watched and filmed outdoors the John Lewis retailer, Harmonie protested her innocence to the officer, saying: ‘You are, you’re (in a position to sing church songs).’

But Ms Hadzhipetkova continued to insist that Harmonie couldn’t sing ‘outdoors of church grounds until you’ve been authorised by the church to do these sort of songs’.

Harmonie mentioned ‘that is a load of garbage, you are allowed’ – however the officer then walked away and one other mentioned: ‘She’s not saying something anymore, thanks on your time.’

The singer mentioned: ‘Are you saying that you do not care concerning the Human Rights Act?’

She then accused Ms Hadzhipetkova of ‘laughing’ whereas she was strolling away. The officer then caught her tongue out.

In a later video, Harmonie quoted Article 9 of the Human Rights Act 1998 which protects somebody’s proper to freedom of thought, perception and faith.

Speaking to MailOnline at this time concerning the incident, Harmonie – who lives in North London – mentioned she had been singing John Newton’s Amazing Grace and Goodness of God – a up to date music by Bethel Music launched in 2019 – and there ‘wasn’t any sort of grievance or noise nuisance’.

Harmonie mentioned Oxford Street is manned by safety, and if any of the companies have an issue they’ll contact a crew who would then ask to maneuver her on, however ‘there was no grievance’.

She mentioned that earlier than the video was filmed, Ms Hadzhipetkova had ‘approached me earlier than, harassing me, and I defined to her that it is freedom of faith, article 9 – I had my human proper to sing the gospel, it is not the identical as busking’.

She continued: ‘I’m truly sharing the gospel. She went off however she was very argumentative. She got here again, she actually marched as much as me, stood in entrance of me and mentioned cease your music now. She actually laughed at my human rights.

‘She wasn’t . She acknowledged, she knew, and one other officer acknowledged that you simply do have freedom of faith and to specific your self. 

‘To be trustworthy, I sing gospel to glorify God. I’m simply actually following the Bible, sharing the Good News. It’s simply a chance to witness to non-believers as effectively.

‘I do not strategy individuals. I do not power individuals to hear. I sing and so they can select to hear – and if they do not, they’ll select to maneuver on. An enormous crowd shaped, they have been actually begging the police to maneuver me on.’

She mentioned she handed them paperwork printed from the Christian Concern web site which said her authorized rights to carry out, however the police ‘did not care’.

She added: ‘I packed my stuff. I did not need to argue with them. They weren’t considering something I needed to say. When I discussed the human rights, that is when she caught her tongue out.

‘She acknowledged it, however to them it does not matter. It was a really controlling atmosphere. Another officer was making jokes saying ‘I’ll go and do some crime then, catch some criminals’ – making an attempt to make a joke of it.

‘A person mentioned one thing alongside the strains of, ‘there is a girl over there being robbed and also you’re right here’. Everybody was upset.’

She claimed one other girl mentioned: ‘This is a Christian nation’.

Asked how the incident made her really feel, Harmonie mentioned: ‘I simply felt very upset by the scenario. It was fairly humiliating. I felt downcast and unhappy. Even after I packed up she stood there saying ‘are you going’?

‘She did not even need me to face on the pavement. She was bullying me. She was sort of laughing, sort of like ‘Hey, I’m on this highly effective place’. It was very intimidating.

‘I’m 20, I’m a quiet particular person. Although I sing I do not actually like consideration and that is not the form of consideration I search. I felt very humiliated and small. I felt like my human rights did not matter, particularly when she was saying that ‘you may’t sing church music’.

‘They had a lot energy that they may create their very own legal guidelines. It was virtually like you do not care whether or not I’ve human rights. When a police officer is telling you that, and threatening to take your tools… a giant crowd gathered to guard me.’

She added that the Bible encourages individuals to ‘sing God’s praises’ and that ‘I’ll proceed to do what I do.’

Harmonie additionally claimed that Ms Hadzhipetkova ‘threatened to take my tools’ and mentioned she would ‘seize it’.

She continued: ‘Then I believed to myself, what am I going to do? My tools may be very costly, Yamaha has given me the piano and AER has given me the audio system, they’re value about £3,000.

‘When I do my gospel, I do not make that a lot cash. I simply make sufficient to cowl congestion cost, petrol, perhaps some meals, after which I’m making an attempt to document in a studio as a result of I’m making an attempt to convey out my very own gospel album.

‘My tools’s been given to me by these large names as a result of they get pleasure from what I do.’

She added that any council bylaws regarding busking ‘do not apply to freedom of expression, it is a human proper’.

Harmonie continued: ‘At the tip of the day I’m not there to upset individuals and trigger a nuisance. I usually go there for 30, 40 minutes, sing gospel music, which is my alternative of music.

‘Even a Muslim girl wrote on TikTook: ‘I’m Muslim and I need you to sing this louder’. I wasn’t inflicting anyone any bother or any offence. No companies referred to as them.’

Harmonie mentioned she had been performing Christian music for the previous 18 months, including: ‘I simply wished to do the music that is near my coronary heart, that I determine with, that is near me as an individual. It’s music that I resonate with.’

She added that she had been performing for the reason that age of 14 however used to sing songs by secular artists similar to Ed Sheeran and Adele.

Harmonie additionally confirmed that she had by no means had such bother earlier than – and one police officer even gave her cash, saying ‘do not surrender, hold singing’.

She continued: ‘Everybody enjoys my singing, Jimmy Choo got here to see me and David Beckham’s son Romeo Beckham got here to see me, Rio Ferdinand got here to see me.

‘There’s fairly just a few people who flip up. I get a number of Americans contacting me. The gospel part of Sony in America desires to signal me. I’ve been invited to America with Jay-Z. I’ve been approached by Cardi-B.

‘At the second I’m simply constructing my music and remaining unbiased as a result of I do not need to be signed and obligated into offers. On TikTook I’ve acquired 531,000 followers. My most up-to-date publish on Instagram reached 28million views.

‘People actually get pleasure from it. I’m not there to trigger offence or upset to the general public. It’s simply to convey love and peace to the general public. I get tons of of messages, individuals saying I want this to church, I went to church due to this. People are writing a number of issues.’

She added that she didn’t need to name for any particular motion in opposition to the police officer.

Ms Hadzhipetkova beforehand lived in Bulgaria earlier than transferring to Cyprus in 2009 the place she lived for 5 years earlier than heading to the UK, in keeping with her LinkedIn.

Since transferring to London she has labored as for Costa Coffee, All Bar One and as a pub supervisor on the Black Lion in Kilburn in North West London.

Photos on her Facebook web page confirmed how she has visited Dubai, Egypt, Paris, Lisbon and Amsterdam, and as soon as went on a highway journey down the US West Coast.

Among these hitting out on the video was former Conservative minister Ann Widdecombe, who referred to as for the officer to be ‘struck off from the voluntary power’.

She informed GB News: ‘She actually has acquired the regulation fully flawed and he or she was clearly having fun with herself somewhat an excessive amount of, making an attempt to boss this girl round.

‘And there isn’t a foundation in any respect for saying you may’t sing. I might stroll down the road singing Onward Christian Soldiers and I might be committing no offence in any respect.’

Speaking to Premier Christian Radio’s Inspirational Breakfast at this time, Ms Widdecombe was requested to substantiate there isn’t a regulation forbidding Christian songs being sung outdoors church grounds.

She mentioned: ‘No, completely not. No. If there have been, the Salvation Army would not have the ability to carry out on the street. No, in fact not.’

Ms Widdecombe continued: ‘I feel they need to take very agency motion in opposition to this particular person, not least for sticking her tongue out, which was a gesture of contempt, not skilled. And clearly, she does not actually know the regulation, definitely does not seem to know the regulation.

‘I might have thought it wasn’t mandatory for the police to know the context. They’ve acquired the video, they’ll see what she mentioned now, is what she mentioned proper or not? And if it is flawed, then they need to take motion.’

Asked whether or not it illustrated a wider level as to what’s an acceptable pure expression of religion, Ms Widdecombe mentioned: ‘There should not be any confusion. Obviously there are limits. And for instance, if you happen to had a bunch of Christians standing outdoors a mosque intentionally singing Christian hymns, that may be thought-about provocative. 

‘But merely to be singing a Christian music on the street – individuals sing songs on the street on a regular basis. They will be faith-based, they are often simply abnormal rock n roll – does not matter.

‘I feel the purpose actually being illustrated is a few individuals have gotten an issue on this nation with Christianity which they do not seem to have with different faiths. And I simply suppose it is time that they learnt that Christianity is a part of variety, not excluded from it.’

Norman Brennan, a former police officer and anti-crime campaigner, additionally tweeted: ‘Folks, this isn’t an excellent look. Some of us are attempting arduous to assist policing get again public misplaced help respect and confidence and this doesn’t assist.’

And Andrea Williams, chief government of the Christian Concern marketing campaign group, informed MailOnline: ‘One of my favorite issues as I commute to work is to listen to Harmonie’s stunning worship.

‘She blesses tens of hundreds of individuals in the identical manner and brings concord to the streets. We want extra of this, not much less. It is stunning that she has been handled like this.’

Ms Williams added: ‘There is nothing unlawful about Harmonie singing worship songs on Oxford Street. Thousands of individuals cease to take heed to her and the message of hope she result in the excellent news of Jesus. 

‘The officer confirmed a complete lack of awareness of the regulation and the human proper protections set out within the Human Rights Act 1998 the place Harmonie’s freedom to specific her religion on the streets is clearly protected.’

Former Metropolitan Police detective Peter Bleksley additionally commented on the video, tweeting: ‘Lawless Britain. The girl in uniform that’s…’

And former Home Office particular adviser Claire Pearsall informed TalkTV: ‘Really ought to the police be going round telling individuals they cannot sing, they cannot pray, they cannot suppose one thing? Why do not they go and take care of precise crime?’

However, Ms Hadzhipetkova discovered help from former Met Police officer Raj Kohli, who tweeted: ‘I’m not certain it deserves the pile on it deserves. She made a mistake across the regulation and was unprofessional with sticking her tongue out. But she volunteers her time to be a police officer and deserves kudos for that.’

However, Mr Bleksley responded to this, tweeting: ‘Here we go of us; just lately retired senior police officer, urges us to not publish about an ignorant and impolite particular constable, as a result of she’s a volunteer. So there you’ve it, clear as day, how they again one another up, even once they act like rubbish. No surprise there isn’t any respect.’ 

Harmonie London has change into a preferred Christian avenue singer lately and now has almost 300,000 followers on every of Instagram and YouTube.

Some of her movies have attracted greater than 4 million views. Her newest clip posted on Monday was entitled: ‘Unpaid Volunteer Officer Doesn’t Like Gospel Songs.’

The caption for the clip, posted at about 6pm, mentioned: ‘Special constables are volunteer cops who make investments their free time to make an actual distinction to our metropolis. You will get an incredible quantity of satisfaction from giving again to the group.’

Harmonie’s clip of the confrontation has to date attracted greater than 5,000 likes and 1,500 feedback. MailOnline has contacted Ms Hadzhipetkova for remark.

In a sequence of tweets yesterday, the Met initially mentioned at 12.14pm: ‘This was filmed in Oxford Street, Westminster, over the weekend. We’re working to know the context wherein these feedback have been made. We will replace as quickly as we are able to.’

In a second replace at 2.32pm, the Met added: ‘We’re reviewing physique worn video of this interplay – it is greater than 40mins lengthy. At the center of it is a particular by-law associated to busking. The officer is aware of she might have dealt with this in another way and is talking to her supervisor.’

It additionally mentioned in an connected publish: ‘We’re conscious of great social media commentary. Some of the feedback are private and hurtful. This is unacceptable.’

Westminster City Council consists of the Oxford Street space amongst its busking and avenue leisure regulated zones of the West End. 

Policy states that there’s a ‘mild contact licensing scheme’ relevant within the space, which implies anybody will ‘solely have the ability to busk in designated pitches’.

They additionally want to use for a licence to carry out, hold to phrases and circumstances of the designated pitches, and abide by the circumstances of their licence.

Busking just isn’t unlawful in England and Wales however there could also be sure byelaws or guidelines imposed by particular person councils, similar to not making an excessive amount of noise.

Singers additionally could to informed to keep away from blocking pavements, not displaying notices asking for cost and solely busking in sure elements of a city or for a set time frame.

Special constables are volunteer officers who’ve the identical powers as common officers and work at the least 200 hours yearly, equating to 16 hours per 30 days.

‘Specials’ are based mostly on one of many 12 primary command models throughout the 32 London boroughs and likewise put on the identical uniform as common officers.

Their duties embody responding to 999 calls, foot and automobile patrols, tackling delinquent behaviour, highway security initiatives and house-to-house enquiries.

They additionally current proof in court docket, assist police occasions and participate in ‘hotspot’ operations to sort out underage ingesting, legal harm and public dysfunction.

Those concerned – who usually have a full or part-time job as effectively – can profit from free journey inside London and a reduction on council tax inside Greater London.

Famous specials embody the broadcaster and mannequin Penny Lancaster, who’s married to singer Rod Stewart, and volunteers with the City of London Police.

Other officers have been criticised for heavy-handed policing of buskers lately – together with one in 2021 left lined in blood as he was held to the bottom by 5 officers following an obvious row over performing in public in Bournemouth.

Also in 2011, a York busker was fined £200 for allegedly breaking Covid restrictions by taking part in the piano as a result of police mentioned it was inflicting individuals to congregate. 

And in Northampton final month, it was revealed that buskers thought-about a ‘nuisance’ within the city centre can be informed to cease taking part in beneath new council guidelines.