EALING Council’s ban on demonstrations directly outside an abortion clinic is lawful, the High Court ruled today.

The council was the first in the country to create a 100-metre protest-free “buffer zone” outside a Marie Stopes clinic, imposing a public spaces protection order (PSPO) in April after reports of “intimidation, harassment and distress.”

Campaigners Alina Dulgheriu and Andrea Orthova argued that the ban was an unlawful interference with the protesters' rights under the European Convention on Human Rights.

But Mr Justice Turner found that, while the ban did interfere with anti-abortion protesters’ rights, Ealing Council was “entitled” to find it was a “necessary step in a democratic society.”

He said “substantial evidence that a very considerable number of users of the clinic reasonably felt that their privacy was being very seriously invaded at a time and place when they were most vulnerable and sensitive to uninvited attention” justified the ban.

The judge emphasised, however, that his decision did not give a “green light” to other local authorities to impose PSPOs around clinics.

Ms Dulgheriu, 34, said she had been offered support by demonstrators and now has a “beautiful” six-year-old daughter.

She said she was considering an appeal, adding in a statement: “I am saddened and shocked that the court has upheld a PSPO that prevents good people giving help to mothers who desperately want it.

“I am devastated for those women that, since the introduction of the Ealing PSPO, have not been able to access the loving help that I did.”

Ealing Council leader Julian Bell said the decision “sends a clear message to those that have denied that there is evidence of unacceptable behaviour ... that there was a problem and action needed to be taken.”

Marie Stopes UK managing director Richard Bentley welcomed the ruling, saying the buffer zone “has already made a transformative difference to the women who depend on our services, local residents, and our own staff.”

A spokesman for the British Pregnancy Advisory Service also welcomed the decision, adding: “Buffer zones like this one are something we at BPAS have been fighting for since 2014.

“Women accessing healthcare services should be able to do so in confidence and dignity, without being harangued by anti-abortion campaigners on the street outside.”