Religious rulings by courts 'risk civil unrest'

A number of cases on sensitive issues – such as Christian registrar Lillian Ladele who was told she was breaking the law by refusing to conduct gay marriages – have caused upset amongst religious groups.

Barrister Paul Diamond is applying to the Court of Appeal for

permission to challenge a ruling which backed the sacking of relationship counsellor Gary McFarlane, a committed Christian, for refusing to give sex therapy to homosexual couples.

He said the laws banning discrimination had taken precedence over religious freedoms which now "counted for nothing" in the courts.

Christian leaders began expressing concerns after Lord Neuberger, who as Master of the Rolls is head of the civil Court of Appeal, ruled in December last year that Ms Ladele was breaking discrimination laws by refusing to conduct civil partnership ceremonies.

Ms Ladele has been refused permission by the Supreme Court to challenge her appeal ruling

Mr Diamond told Lord Justice Laws: "There will be a collision between the established faith of this land and judicial decisions and that will lead to civil unrest.

"The decision of Ladele is wrong in principle and in law.

"At stake is the reputation of the United Kingdom as a nation that respects religious rights."

Mr Diamond said people were now losing their jobs because what were once regarded as "ethical matters of concern" were now being treated as discrimination.

There was a similar message from the former Archbishop of Canterbury Lord Carey who sent a statement to the judge calling for Mr McFarlane's appeal to be heard by a specially-constituted panel of judges with a "proven sensitivity and understanding of religious issues".

Lord Carey said recent decisions by the courts had used "dangerous" reasoning.

"The fact that senior clerics of the Church of England and other faiths feel compelled to intervene directly in judicial decisions and cases is illuminative of a future civil unrest," he said.