LONDON, November 30, 2006  –  The row over the recently-launched campaign by a Christian group to effectively scupper the Government’s plans to introduce a ban on discriminating against gays in the provision of goods and services has deepened.

Two senior clerics, the Roman Catholic Archbishop of Birmingham Vincent Nichols and the Anglican Bishop of Rochester Michael Nazir-Ali both slammed the Government’s plans at the beginning of the week.

Archbishop Nichols threatened to withdraw Roman Catholic co-operation with the Government over schools, charity programmes and adoption agencies if the new sexual orientation regulations go ahead while Bishop Nazir-Ali warned that Anglican youth clubs, welfare projects and charities may close because of the propose law.

“It seems deeply un-Christian for bishops to be arguing, as they have done, for the right to exclude gay people from soup kitchens and homelessness shelters,” said Ben Summerskill, the chief executive of Stonewall.

“At Stonewall, we worked very hard indeed to secure this change in the law and we’ll continue to lobby as hard as we can to ensure that the regulations are strong and robust when finally introduced.”

And in Brussels, Michael Cashman MEP (Labour/PES, UK) said that there was no place for the clerics’ intolerance or their prejudice in a modern civilised society.

“By imposing their religious belief on others they wish to create a hierarchy of rights and diminish the human rights and civil liberties of other people.

“I find it unbelievable and totally unchristian that they want to discriminate on the grounds of someone being gay or lesbian,” said Mr. Cashman who is president of the European Parliament’s ‘Intergroup’ on gay and lesbian rights.

“Any discrimination diminishes the persons who are targeted.  The government must stand firm.  Labour has a proud record on equality which must not be sullied by these sordid attempts at ‘blackmail’,” he concluded.

Gay human rights activist Peter Tatchell of Outrage! commented: “This is a desperate measure by some desperately prejudiced people.

“In the name of religion, they want the right to discriminate against lesbians and gays. Their views on gay rights are not a million miles from the views of the far right.

“Faith should never be used to justify discrimination,” Mr. Tatchell pointed out.

On Tuesday, a little-known group calling itself the ‘Coherent and Cohesive Voice’ placed a full-page advertisement in the (London) Times.

“SEX”, the ad’s headline screamed.  And it continued:  “Freedom on conscience? Freedom of religion? Not any more”.

The ad encouraged readers to write to government ministers and MPs to complain about the proposed ‘Sexual Orientation Regulations’ that will be applied to the the Provision of Goods and Services Act.