The Court of Appeal has given short shrift to former Archbishop of Canterbury Lord Carey's calls for the courts to do more to protect the rights of Christians, following a statement he made in support of an appeal by Gary McFarlane, a Christian counsellor who was dismissed for refusing to give advice to same-sex couples.
In a strongly-worded and highly unusual judgment that has already caused a reaction from Lord Carey (on the Guardian website), the Court of Appeal stressed that, just because a court finds an individual's actions to be discriminatory, does not mean that it is condemning that person's actions as disreputable or bigoted, as Lord Carey seems to have suggested in his statement. At least in cases of indirect discrimination, the law is more concerned with the outcome of the alleged discriminator's acts or omissions, rather than his or her original motives.
The Court of Appeal also dismissed Lord Carey's suggestion of having a special court to hear cases involving religious rights, finding that to do so would be "deeply inimical to the public interest".
Mr McFarlane was refused permission to appeal against the Employment Appeal Tribunal decision rejecting his claim for religious discrimination.
| Tweet |
|
| Permalink | Email this |
