OUR LATEST ISSUE
Christian registrar to appeal against ruling
Lillian Ladele
The Christian registrar who refused to conduct gay marriages is to appeal
Lillian Ladele, who was threatened with the sack by Islington Council when she refused to conduct civil partnership ceremonies, is to take her case directly to the Court of Appeal.
Last year an employment tribunal upheld Ms Ladele’s claim that she was being discriminated against because of her Christian beliefs in refusing to perform same-sex marriages.
However the decision was overturned in December by the Employment Appeal Tribunal who declared that Ms Ladele’s employer, Islington Council, had indeed acted lawfully.
They decided that Islington Council had not threatened to sack her on account of her religious beliefs, but because she was refusing to carry out civil partnership ceremonies – which involved discriminating against people because of their sexual orientation.
The Employment Appeals Tribunal has now denied Ms Ladele leave to appeal so she is to petition the Court of Appeal directly.
The Christian Institute, a fundamentalist religious group, will continue to fund Ms Ladele’s legal costs.
A spokesman for the Christian Institute said: “Clearly this is an issue on which people on both sides have strong feelings but we think Lillian has been treated unfairly and that's what we will be saying to the Court of Appeal.
"We believe the decision that Islington Council took to discipline Lilian for not doing civil partnerships was an overreaction...
"They need to respect the rights of their religious employees too, while still offering the service to LGBT people."
Islington in North London has one of the highest gay populations in the capital, and over 1,000 civil partnerships are registered there each year.
Ms Ladele continues to be employed by Islington Council, but is not working at the moment.
