LILLIAN Ladele, the Christian registrar who was told to perform same-sex civil partnerships or face dismissal, has lost her religious discrimination case at the Court of Appeal.
Lawyers acting for Ladele say she intends to fight on, and will appeal to the Supreme Court, the UK’s highest court.
Lillian Ladele
She originally won a religious discrimination case against Islington Council at an employment tribunal in July 2008.
But that success was overturned months later by the Employment Appeal Tribunal (EAT) who said Miss Ladele had been treated badly but it did not amount to religious discrimination. Her case has been championed by the Christian Institute, which reported on the case today.
Master of the Rolls at the Court of appeal, Lord Neuberger, today upheld the EAT’s decision.
The Court of Appeal said that “Islington did not treat her fairly”. However, the court ruled this did not amount to religious discrimination.
Lord Neuberger said:
It appears to me that, however much sympathy one may have with someone such as Ms Ladele, who is faced with choosing between giving up a post she plainly appreciates or officiating at events which she considers to be contrary to her religious beliefs, the legislature has decided that the requirements of a modern liberal democracy, such as the United Kingdom, include outlawing discrimination in the provision of goods, facilities and services on grounds of sexual orientation, subject only to very limited exceptions.
Reacting to the ruling, The Christian Institute’s Mike Judge said:
We are naturally disappointed at this decision and Miss Ladele intends to appeal. It is an important case of religious liberty not just for Lillian but for Christians working throughout the public sector.
Several local authorities have been able to accommodate the religious beliefs of registrars who have a moral objection to same-sex partnerships. It is a shame Islington didn’t take the same approach.
It is important to realise that not a single same-sex couple was denied, or would have been denied, access to a civil partnership registration at Islington Council due to Miss Ladele’s stance. There are plenty of registrars at Islington to meet the Council’s obligations.
Looking at the matter more widely, Government regulations in this area have not done enough to protect religious liberty. Time and again, equality and diversity laws mean Christians are pushed to the back of the queue.
The ruling was welcomed by Islington Council, the homosexual lobby group Stonewall, civil liberties group Liberty, and the National Secular Society.
Keith Porteous Wood, Executive Director of the NSS, said:
This is an extremely important decision for the protection of the rights of gay people in this country – and the right one. It establishes – we hope definitively – that because a person has strong religious views, it does not give them the right to discriminate against and deny services to others of whom they disapprove.
Parliament has decided that gay people are entitled to civil partnerships and that their right to such a service be protected in law, so there should therefore be no opt outs on any grounds, religious or otherwise for public servants from performing these ceremonies.
Christian conscience should not be a blanket licence to discriminate against others.
The Freethinker was founded in 1881 by GW Foote, an outspoken critic of religion. After the publication of 
December 15th, 2009 at 9:27 pm
This news made my day !!!
This bigot who epitomizes “Do as I say not as I do” that is so typical of fundie christians has finally been shown that hopefully there’s no more room for christian anti-gay rhetoric in the UK. If you’re a civil servant you do your job and leave your twisted bigot beliefs at home and don’t let it interfere with your work.
and the CI people…they make my flesh crawl they are sooo creepy
December 15th, 2009 at 10:09 pm
what the hell is it bible nuts and us gays? never undertood it.
December 15th, 2009 at 10:16 pm
A good result and no doubt this stupid bigot will lose again at the supreme court. How much is this claim costing us taxpayers?
December 15th, 2009 at 10:45 pm
Time and again, equality and diversity laws mean Christians are pushed to the back of the queue … whines Mike Judge in the same article.
Typically laughable and exaggerated vent of bitterness over the fact that Christians are no longer FRONT of the queue.
December 15th, 2009 at 10:50 pm
What if I, as a gay man who worked in a Registrar’s office, refused to register a couple because they are straight or christian and said that it went against my beliefs!!! She would have been the first one to react and scream that we were discriminating against them. If she can’t work in a Registrar’s office and abide by the rules then she should go and work at a Tesco or a pharmacy….but I suppose she would probably refuse to sell condoms.These people make my stomach turn.
December 15th, 2009 at 11:18 pm
Read this, because if I quoted from it you would just think that I was making it all up!
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/deb.....icide.html
December 15th, 2009 at 11:25 pm
I’ll give you a taster:
“In recent times, there has been a string of cases in which it is no exaggeration to say that British Christians have been persecuted for expressing their faith” (my emphasis).
And the BBC have this woman (Melanie Phillips) on Question Time!!!
December 15th, 2009 at 11:43 pm
“Time and again, equality and diversity laws mean Christians are pushed to the back of the queue.”
Wouldn’t this imply that Christianity is prohibitive of equality and diversity?
December 16th, 2009 at 12:11 am
Sadly, rather than simply be fired, she will state that her ‘rights’ (which when I was young was something you earned) was violated, the courts will bend over so as not to offend her, and there you have it, one young bigot = one million pounds in compensation.
As I have no beliefs – can I be offended?
December 16th, 2009 at 2:21 am
If she wants to practice her religion rather than do a job as outlined in the job description she should go work in a church. Crazy, bigoted bitch.
December 16th, 2009 at 5:12 am
1 Corinthians 14:34, as if she didn’t know…
“Let women keep silence in the churches: for it is not permitted them to speak, but to be subject, as also the law saith. ”
So not only breaking the law, but speaking as well..
I do hope somebody’s praying for this woman.
December 16th, 2009 at 7:10 am
@tony e (and other non-theistically inclined people):
No belief or no religion?
I believe in justice, equality and a full day’s pay for a full day’s work, or get a different job. I do not worship any god(s).
Of course you can and should be offended, on every occasion.
I am constantly offended, by the way that animals are killed (for halal); by the way that other people try to brainwash my children;
by the way children are unnecessarily refused food during ramadam – even in those countries where they still have to attend school all day.
I am offended by misogyny, men living in palaces and wearing white silk telling me that my ‘greed’ makes me a sinner, while their ‘humility’ makes them a saint.
I am offended by people who teach little girls that their hair is sinful; by people who teach that sex between consenting adults is wrong and raping children is not really harmful, or even that it is good when the ‘union’ has been authorised by a shaman.
I appeal to all non-superstitious people, there is so much to be offended at/about: PLEASE START BEING OFFENDED!
December 16th, 2009 at 9:04 am
Well said, @gsw. You could also have mentioned circumcision and Female Genital Mutilation – surely two of the most barbaric “medical procedures” ever devised by the mind of man. Can you imagine such acts even being contemplated, let alone legally sanctioned, without the backing of the religionists?
December 16th, 2009 at 9:41 am
I’ve just followed barriejohn’s link to Melanie bitch Phillips article and it truly is a masterpiece of utter shite my favourite bit being.
Without the Biblical narrative, which gave the world the revolutionary idea of an orderly universe that could therefore be investigated by the use of reason, science would never have developed in the first place.
December 16th, 2009 at 10:43 am
@gsw,
Yes, we should be offended at every turn, but, as we do not have an invisible friend to blame things on, we only end up being embarrassed.
December 16th, 2009 at 11:14 am
Melanie Philips:
“Rationality is actually underpinned by Judaeo-Christian beliefs” - WHAT?
“It was the Judaeo-Christian belief…that gave rise to human rights and democracy”!
“Strip away those (religious) foundations and what would be left would be a brutalized and chaotic society”!
She’s a nutcase, @chrsbol!!
December 16th, 2009 at 4:30 pm
Certain jobs require certain activities to be carried out. If you sign up to a job and the scope of work is laid out you should be prepared to carry out the duties.
If the employer attempts to change your scope of works this amounts to a change of contract and may result in legal challenge.
The lady obviously values the job according to the report but just obviously not enough to carry out all its duties.
December 16th, 2009 at 10:33 pm
I wonder how she’d feel if a fellow registrar refused to marry a black couple because of their personal beliefs. I imagine she’d be the first to claim that this was unfair….