BBC Radio 4 last night broadcast a report about the case of Christian B&B owners taken to court for restricting double beds to married couples.
On the programme, the taxpayer-funded Equality Commission defended its decision to pursue Peter and Hazelmary Bull through the courts on behalf of a homosexual couple.
The BBC also interviewed The Christian Institute’s Mike Judge, who explained that the Institute funded the Bulls’ legal defence as a matter of religious liberty.
Pact
Homosexual couple, Steven Preddy and Martyn Hall, told the BBC that they had signed an agreement with the taxpayer-funded Equality Commission to sue the Christian couple.
BBC reporter, Matthew Hill, asked the Commission why, after winning the case, they had taken further action to demand a stiffer penalty against Mr and Mrs Bull.
The Commission’s John Wadham said it was a mistake and he thought it had been the wrong thing to do.
Damage
But The Christian Institute’s Mike Judge said the Commission’s actions were a sign of its secular motivation, and it was a move that had done a great deal of damage.
The BBC programme also examined the case of a Christian couple from Derby whose application to be foster carers had been halted because of their beliefs about homosexual conduct.
The matter ended up in court. The Christian couple, Eunice and Owen Johns, were supported by the Christian Legal Centre.
Infection
During the case the Equality Commission submitted legal papers to the court warning that Christians with such views may harm children by ‘infecting’ them with their values.
The BBC asked the Commission’s John Wadham about the remark. He admitted it was a mistake and said the Commission had apologised to the Johns.
Denial
The programme included an interview with the Bishop of Buckingham, Alan Wilson, who denied that the religious liberty of Christians is being squeezed by English law.
But the Institute’s Mike Judge said the church should not bury its head in the sand or be ashamed of its beliefs.