Like many others I was saddened to learn that lots of pro-democracy leaders have been given long sentences in Hong Kong for subversion under the national security law. It is a sobering reminder that the democratic values we enjoy are far less welcome in other parts of the world.

In fact, we do well to remember that democracy may be a sturdy plant, but history shows that it needs careful attention if it is to survive and thrive.

We probably assume that nothing like this could ever happen in Britian. But is that a reasonable assumption? Before you answer that let me point you to the experience of physiotherapist Adam Smith-Connor who was recently handed a two-year conditional discharge and ordered to pay costs of £9,000 for praying silently inside an abortion clinic “buffer zone” Sadly, it seems, 51-year-old army veteran was praying for the soul of his child which had been, now much to his regret, aborted many years earlier.

Now I have no idea where you stand on the contentious and highly charged issue of abortion, but I believe this chilling story should trouble us all because in essence it means that Smith-Connor now has a criminal record for thinking the wrong thoughts in the wrong place. Is it any wonder then that one commentator has described his experience as ‘chilling’ and ‘sinister’?

I found it particularly appropriate and fitting then that the father of two questioned his treatment in a special message that he shared on Remembrance Sunday through the Alliance Defending Freedom (ADF UK), which is supporting him, stating that he was still "in disbelief" that he was convicted in a ruling that effectively makes silent thoughts a crime.

"For 20 years, I proudly served our country as an Army Reservist—including a tour of Afghanistan—and I continue to serve my community today as a physiotherapist and a volunteer at my local church," he said. "But I never imagined that the country I love—a nation that has given me so much—could turn against me for something as simple as offering a silent prayer concerning my late, unborn son."

"Remembrance Sunday is a day of collective commemoration and gratitude, a reminder of the freedoms we have today thanks to the courage of those who served our nation. But now I question if those freedoms are truly honoured," he added.

"How can we ask British troops to put their lives at risk defending freedom abroad while, at home, we are fining, arresting and imprisoning people for a thoughtcrime of silent prayer?"

Now I would be the first to say that we should do all we can to avoid upsetting people, especially when they are ‘going through the mill’, and I appreciate that for many an abortion is no easy option. But Smith-Connor is surely right to point out that we are in danger of betraying our heritage and our hard-won freedoms when we deny people the opportunity to question social attitudes and legislation and even worse criminalise them for praying and entertaining ‘the wrong thoughts’?

Thankfully, we currently enjoy the blessings of living in a much-admired democratic society. But for how long I wonder. Let’s hope – and pray - this judgement is not the thin end of a very undemocratic wedge.