A senior pastor with more than 35 years of evangelical ministry has been arrested by British police while preaching in a public street, sparking outrage among his supporters after footage of the incident circulated widely online.
Steve Maile, senior pastor of Oasis City Church in Watford and a well-known figure in apostolic evangelical circles, was detained in front of his wife, Karina — who is also his co-pastor — and their children. Video footage captured during the arrest shows Maile continuing to preach as officers moved to restrain him, declaring repeatedly that no offence was being committed.
“You cannot arrest me. I am a preacher of the Gospel,” he can be heard saying in the footage, addressing officers directly as they approached him. “There is no offence being committed here. None whatsoever.” As he was handcuffed, he continued preaching to those around him: “You repent and believe on the Lord Jesus Christ and you’ll be saved.” He can also be heard protesting that he had not assaulted anyone and demanding the handcuffs be removed.
Speaking in a video message posted to supporters in the early hours of the following morning, Maile said he had returned home at around 1am after several hours in police custody. He described the experience as deeply distressing, both for himself and his family.
“I was absolutely brutalised and victimised by the British police,” he said. “I was in excruciating pain. I was double handcuffed and arrested on the street in front of my wife, my children. My wife was shaking. It was a terrible experience and my children were crying.” He said the allegations made against him were “completely false” and that he had been interrogated for several hours before being released. He confirmed he had been placed on bail for three months, a development he described as “absolute nonsense.”
Despite the ordeal, Maile was defiant in his message to supporters. “You will never, ever stop Steve Maile preaching the Gospel of Jesus Christ,” he said, adding that he intended to seek the best legal advice available.
Maile, who became a Christian in Auckland, New Zealand in 1979, has spent decades in full-time ministry across more than fifty nations, having previously left a career as a head chef to pursue evangelical work. He has ministered alongside prominent figures in the global evangelical movement and founded Oasis City Church with his wife, who serves alongside him as co-pastor. The couple have four children, some of whom are also involved in the ministry.
The precise grounds for his arrest have not been confirmed by police. The allegations he faced, which he has denied, are not detailed in material he has made public. Hertfordshire Police had not issued a public statement at the time of publication.
Maile’s arrest is far from an isolated case. The treatment of Pastor Dia Moodley, 58, by Avon and Somerset Police has drawn similar controversy and prompted legal action, raising broader concerns about how British police forces are handling religious expression in public spaces.
Moodley was detained in Bristol’s Broadmead shopping area last November after officers responded to a complaint from a couple who objected to his street preaching on transgender ideology. He had also spoken publicly that day about the theological differences between Christianity and Islam, engaging in what supporters described as peaceful dialogue with members of the public. Despite members of his congregation being present and willing to give their account of events, police moved to arrest him without taking their testimony, charging him under the Public Order Act 1986 on suspicion of inciting religious hatred.
The arrest proved physically gruelling. Moodley suffers from a heart condition and was visibly distressed as officers handcuffed him. He requested the cuffs be secured in front of his body rather than behind his back to avoid restricting his breathing — a request the attending officer was initially reluctant to grant before eventually complying. He was subsequently held in a police cell for eight hours.
Upon release, Moodley was placed on bail conditions prohibiting him from entering Bristol city centre until 30 December, a restriction that effectively barred him from preaching in the heart of the city throughout the Christmas period — one of its busiest times of year. The conditions were not lifted until 17 December, by which point significant disruption had already been caused to both his ministry and personal life. Officers visited his home on 8 January to question him further and invited him to attend a voluntary interview under caution. He is still awaiting word on whether criminal charges will follow.
ADF International is providing legal support. Its legal counsel, Jeremiah Igunnubole, said the case reflected a troubling and recurring pattern. “Pastor Dia’s arrest for peacefully commenting on Islam and transgender ideology shows police are using public order legislation to impose de facto blasphemy laws in the UK,” he said, adding that Avon and Somerset Police had for years targeted Moodley for lawful speech while failing to pursue those who had committed offences against him.
That failure is particularly stark in the context of what occurred in March 2025, when Moodley was twice threatened with arrest for breaching the peace during street preaching on Christianity and Islam. On the same occasion, he was physically assaulted by members of the public — one of whom threatened to stab him. No charges were brought against any of his attackers. Police had also previously attempted to bar Moodley from discussing any religion other than Christianity during his street outreach, a restriction later abandoned and formally acknowledged as “disproportionate” after he mounted a legal challenge with ADF International.
Moodley described the cumulative effect of the repeated police interventions as deeply troubling. “It feels surreal that the police have criminalised me so harshly and repeatedly merely for peacefully expressing my Christian views in the public square,” he said. “I believe the police view me as an easy target and are afraid of others being offended by my lawful speech. This is two-tier policing in action.”
