A Christian street preacher who was arrested, handcuffed and taken away by police for ‘hate speech’ has been awarded £2,500 for wrongful arrest.

The former dentist was preaching outside Southgate Tube station in North London in February when a passer-by called police and accused Oluwole Ilesanmi, 64, of ‘Islamophobic’ speech. Approached by police he said he described Islam as an ‘aberration’ but insisted he was simply expressing his point of view as a Christian rather than denigrating Muslims. The police accused him of racism, arrested him for ‘breaching the peace’, wrested his from him bible, and drove him to a location four miles away, after which they ‘dearrested him’.

The arrest was captured on camera and posted online and has since been viewed ten million times. The case was raised in Parliament and a petition with 38,000 signatures calling for greater religious freedom for Christian street pastors will be delivered to Government next week.

Scotland Yard has now agreed to pay Mr Ilesanmi £2,500 for wrongful arrest and his humiliating and distressing treatment.

Andrea Williams, chief executive of the Christian Legal Centre, said: ‘Despite laws that theoretically support the freedom to preach in public, in practice police officers are quick to silence preachers at the first suggestion that a member of the public is offended.’