A Christian magistrate sacked for publicly expressing the view that children are better off with opposite-sex parents has lost a legal appeal.
Richard Page was dismissed from his post as a magistrate in 2015 and later removed from his position as a Non-Executive Director at an NHS Trust.
Lawyers argued that Mr Page was facing religious discrimination for “judging what’s best for the child”, after his case was dismissed by the Employment Appeal Tribunal.
Strong evidence
Analysis of hundreds of studies uphold Page’s view that children are better off with both a mother and a father.
University of Virginia sociologist W. Bradford Wilcox has said: “The best psychological, sociological, and biological research to date now suggests that – on average – men and women bring different gifts to the parenting enterprise”.
However, the tribunal judge Mr Justice Choudhury ruled Page had “chosen to advertise the bias that he would apply in the exercise of his judicial functions”.
NHS
After being removed as a magistrate, Mr Page was subsequently suspended and then removed from his role as a Non-Executive Director at Medway NHS and Social Care Partnership Trust.
The tribunal judgment found that this was for “the manner” in which Page had expressed his beliefs, “including the fact that he had spoken to the media without informing the Trust”. This contravened the Trust’s policies and procedures.
Following the ruling, Mr Page said: “I am deeply disappointed that the court has ruled that saying that a child will do better with a mother and a father is proper grounds for dismissal as a magistrate and as a director of an NHS trust.
‘Deeply intolerant’
He added: “I’m also disappointed that Mr Justice Choudhury believes this viewpoint can be separated from my Christian faith.
“This shows that we are now living in a deeply intolerant society which cannot stand any dissent from politically correct views”.
The Christian Legal Centre, which is defending Page, says it will continue to support his case.