A group of former members of the Church of Scientology today hand-delivered a petition to 10 Downing Street, calling on the UK Government to launch an inquiry into abuse within high-control groups and to close legal loopholes that allow such practices to continue.
The group of ex-Scientologists presented a petition, co-signed by the Michael J. Rinder Aftermath Foundation along with a dossier of dozens of first-hand survivor testimonies documenting decades of abuse, coercive control, financial exploitation, child safeguarding failures, and forced labour that have occurred within the Church in the United Kingdom.
The handover took place at the door of 10 Downing Street, where the group posed for photographs with the petition.
The petition urges the Government to take decisive action, including llaunching a public inquiry into high-control groups in the UK; strengthening safeguarding laws to recognise spiritual and ritual abuse; closing gaps in legislation that allow coercive control outside domestic settings (Serious Crime Act 2015); and introducing mandatory reporting requirements for abuse within religious organisations, as proposed by the All Party Parliamentary Group on Safeguarding in Faith Communities.
The petition draws on historic findings, including the 1971 Foster Report, which described Scientology as “socially harmful,” as well as testimonies from former members. “This is not about belief — it’s about abuse, exploitation, and the failure of safeguarding systems to protect vulnerable people, especially children,” said Alexander Barnes-Ross, who has been leading protests against Scientology’s abusive practices in the UK for the last three years.
“For too long, we have been ignored – the media often too afraid to even call us survivors. The Government has previously recognised the harms of this organisation, the Charity Commission ruled it “does not benefit the public” and yet it continues to operate unchanged and free of scrutiny to this day. We are bringing our experiences directly to the Government’s door and asking them to act in order to right the wrongs of the past and prevent further harm.”
The accompanying testimonies describe patterns of alleged abuse spanning decades, including excessive working hours for little or no pay, pressure to sever contact with family members, failure to report crimes to authorities and exploitation of minors within organisational structures. The testimonies demonstrate a systemic issue that has spanned decades, with one account from the 1970s and another as recently as this year.
The petition includes dozens of detailed survivor accounts from former Scientologists in the UK and internationally. The campaign is supported by advocacy organisations such as the Michael J. Ridner Aftermath Foundation, which assists individuals leaving Scientology.
The action follows similar international scrutiny, including recent inquiries into high- control groups in Australia.
Although its buildings are designated places of worship, the Church of Scientology was rejected by the Charity Commission in 1999. In 1986, High Court Judge Mr. Justice Latey ruled Scientology was “corrupt, sinister and dangerous”.
Alex Barnes-Ross has been a prolific campaigner for greater awareness of Scientology’s harmful practices in the United Kingdom, speaking out on Youtube under the name ‘Apostate Alex’ and through online site scientologybusiness.com. In response, Scientology have orchestrated a prolific campaign of harassment and attempted to ban peaceful protests outside its UK headquarters.
