The Christian Institute » News

Lottery winners could face lifetime of misery

Jane Leung — Sat, 21 Nov 2009 09:05:26 +0000

A married couple from Wales have scooped a share of a £91 million EuroMillions jackpot but a national newspaper asks – is it the worst thing that could have happened to them? “We may not be as rich” as those who win the lottery “but there’s every chance we may live longer, happier lives as [...]

Children’s rights fuelling crisis of adult authority

rogerj — Sat, 21 Nov 2009 09:00:46 +0000

Parents and teachers are fuelling a “crisis of adult authority” by promoting children’s rights according to an academic from Derby University. Professor Dennis Hayes told the Westminster Education Forum that involving children in making important decisions made adults appear “abject”. Prof Hayes’ comments come in the wake of the new Education Bill which gives schoolchildren and their [...]

MP: Kids acting out porn in playground

Sam Wylie — Fri, 20 Nov 2009 14:00:56 +0000

Children as young as five are simulating sex in the playground as a result of watching pornography on satellite TV and the internet, according to a Labour MP. Barry Sheerman, the MP for Huddersfield, told the House of Commons that the country is “awash with a focus on early sexual activity.” He said: “When I go [...]

Video: Christians forgive dead daughter’s bullies

Sam Wylie — Fri, 20 Nov 2009 12:51:33 +0000

The Christian parents whose adopted daughter, Rosi, was bullied to death have forgiven the teenage girls who were this week found guilty of her manslaughter. Watch the parents’ statement Reverend Simon Boxall and his wife Rachel said: “We continue to pray for those who are responsible for Rosi’s death. “We want them to know that we forgive [...]

Humphrys: let atheists on Thought for the Day

rogerj — Fri, 20 Nov 2009 11:28:21 +0000

John Humphrys, the senior host of Radio 4’s Today Programme, favours allowing atheist guests to take part in the show’s three-minute religious slot. Mr Humphrys told The Times: “As a non-believer, I’ve always thought there’s an argument for a secular Thought for the Day — but not because of discrimination. I think we’d get some interesting [...]

Humanists target kids in latest anti-religion drive

Sam Wylie — Thu, 19 Nov 2009 16:29:19 +0000

The children of religious parents are being targeted in an anti-religion advertising campaign by the same humanist group that was behind atheist bus ads. The British Humanist Association (BHA) says its adverts, which read: “Please don’t label me. Let me grow up and choose for myself”, are part of its aim to “phase out” faith schools. [...]

Atheist kids’ author to rewrite Christ’s death

rogerj — Thu, 19 Nov 2009 16:19:43 +0000

The atheist children’s author Philip Pullman has written his own account about the life of Jesus Christ which will include a “different ending” to that recorded in the Bible. A friend of the author revealed that Mr Pullman’s story about Jesus Christ, who was crucified by the Romans, will look at what would have happened if [...]

Queen’s Speech: Equality Bill, home ed and sex ed

Sam Wylie — Thu, 19 Nov 2009 15:40:45 +0000

The controversial Equality Bill and a new schools Bill with divisive plans for sex education and home schooling formed part of yesterday’s Queen’s Speech. The speech, which is prepared by the Government and delivered by the Queen, sets out the legislative agenda for the next session of Parliament. Equality Bill In the speech it was announced that the [...]

Kirk votes against trainee gay clergy

rogerj — Thu, 19 Nov 2009 15:10:25 +0000

Allowing a homosexual man to begin training for ministry in the Church of Scotland broke a two-year agreement to suspend appointing openly gay clergy, the Kirk has decided. A church court voted 43 to 38 that Hamilton Presbytery, one of the largest in Scotland, broke the agreement by appointing Dimitri Ross to training. The agreement was [...]

Gay groups want civil partnerships in church

Sam Wylie — Thu, 19 Nov 2009 13:15:04 +0000

Homosexual activists are lobbying to change the law hoping that, in the future, churches may be forced to host gay civil partnership services. At present the gay lobby group Stonewall is seeking an amendment to the Equality Bill which will allow churches to host the services if they wish. But Ben Summerskill, head of Stonewall, said: “Right [...]

UK children trafficked to paedophile parties

rogerj — Wed, 18 Nov 2009 16:58:01 +0000

Children as young as ten are being moved around the UK and sexually abused at parties organised by paedophiles, according to a new report by Barnardo’s. The report, Whose Child Now?, revealed that organised gangs may be sexually exploiting as many as 10,000 children each year. One in six of these children are being trafficked [...]

BBC rejects secular Thought for the Day

Jane Leung — Wed, 18 Nov 2009 15:46:44 +0000

The BBC has rejected demands from atheists that they should muscle in on Radio 4’s three-minute religious slot, Thought for the Day. “It would be like allowing hockey on Match of the Day, which doesn’t make any sense” said Revd Giles Fraser who welcomed the decision. Secularists had complained that the religious slot breached BBC guidelines [...]

Spain set to teach ‘hands on’ sex ed

Sam Wylie — Wed, 18 Nov 2009 15:43:39 +0000

Teenagers in southern Spain are being taught about explicit ‘hands on’ sexual activities as part of one region’s sex education campaign. The new drive, which is targeted at 14 to 17-year-olds, includes information on “sexual self-exploration”. Its slogan is: “Pleasure is in your own hands”. The socialist government in the region of Extremadura is funding the [...]

‘Lesbian women make better parents’, claims Govt official

Jane Leung — Tue, 17 Nov 2009 16:42:06 +0000

Lesbians make better parents than heterosexual couples, a senior Government parenting adviser has stated. But critics have hit back saying children need fathers. They also point to a wealth of studies which say children do best when raised by their married biological parents. Stephen Scott, The Director of Research at the National Academy for Parenting Practitioners, pointed [...]

Faith groups to advise on Govt policy, says minister

Jane Leung — Tue, 17 Nov 2009 15:52:43 +0000

Faith groups are to be given a key role in shaping Government policies, a senior minister has pledged. Communities secretary, John Denham, admitted that the Government had failed to include the voice of faith groups in the past but said he now vowed to include them in the decision-making process. The minister, who has described himself as [...]

24-hr drinking backfired, police conference hears

Matt Jess — Tue, 17 Nov 2009 14:44:29 +0000

Delegates at Britain’s first police conference aimed at tackling alcohol-fuelled night time violence have heard how the Government’s 24-hour drinking law has backfired. Garry Shewan, Assistant Chief Constable of Greater Manchester Police (GMP) told the conference that alcohol-fuelled disorder now lasts throughout the night, leaving police dangerously stretched. He called for the 2003 Licensing Act which created [...]

Census could ask: are you straight, gay or bisexual?

rogerj — Tue, 17 Nov 2009 14:17:55 +0000

Everyone in the UK could be asked about their sexual orientation on the 2011 census under controversial proposals currently being considered by Government ministers. The Office for National Statistics (ONS), which compiles the census, has opposed the move claiming that the results would not be accurate. However, ministers have been “asked to look at it [...]

Assisted suicide guidance is risky and ‘not fit for purpose’

Matt Jess — Mon, 16 Nov 2009 16:14:56 +0000

New guidelines for applying the law against assisted suicide are “not fit for purpose” and place vulnerable people at risk, according to a group of leading lawyers, Peers and former judges. The group says that preliminary guidance issued by the Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP) is badly flawed and risks being misinterpreted to mean that cases [...]

Government slammed for trying to stifle free speech

Sam Wylie — Mon, 16 Nov 2009 14:24:07 +0000

A national newspaper columnist has welcomed the retention of a free speech protection in the ‘homophobic hatred’ offence, and criticised the Government for trying to remove it. Philip Johnston, writing in The Daily Telegraph, said that Lord Waddington’s free speech clause, which makes clear that criticising homosexual conduct is not, in itself, a crime, is [...]

Dr Death’s office raided in assisted suicide probe

Sam Wylie — Sat, 14 Nov 2009 09:00:44 +0000

The office of Philip Nitschke, the Australian pro-euthanasia campaigner known as Dr Death, has been raided by police as part of an investigation into a possible assisted suicide. Reports say the lethal drug Nembutal was found during the search of properties linked to Dr Nitschke’s organisation Exit International in Melbourne, New South Wales. Dr Nitschke [...]

Dundee Council drops Christmas

rogerj — Fri, 13 Nov 2009 14:53:27 +0000

Dundee City Council has come under fire for removing all references to Christmas from this year’s festive light switch-on ceremony. The traditional Christian nativity story has also been dropped from the event, which will instead feature a disco, a contemporary circus, a continental market and a fairy on stilts. The event has been renamed as the [...]

Scientists move closer to three parent babies

Sam Wylie — Fri, 13 Nov 2009 14:23:29 +0000

Scientists have created and fertilised an egg with two biological mothers and one biological father, sparking ethical fears about babies grown from three-parent embryos. The Japanese researchers used material from the eggs of young donors to repair damaged eggs from older mothers. The two-mother eggs were injected with sperm from a man to create an early [...]

Government wastes time and money on STI checks

Sam Wylie — Fri, 13 Nov 2009 14:10:39 +0000

The Government has wasted millions of pounds of taxpayers’ money on screening for chlamydia because of poor organisation, according to the National Audit Office (NAO). The National Chlamydia Screening Programme misspent £17 million last year and another £40 million could be wasted next year, the NAO says. The report estimates chlamydia tests should cost £33 each [...]

A quarter of British men in alcohol-fuelled fights

rogerj — Fri, 13 Nov 2009 13:36:05 +0000

Almost one in four British men have been involved in alcohol-fuelled violence, according to an ICM poll. The poll, commissioned by the Priory Group, demonstrated that millions of people across the country could be endangering their health and personal safety through binge drinking. The poll revealed that 30 per cent of people have been [...]

Abortion figures in Britain worst in EU

rogerj — Fri, 13 Nov 2009 12:45:42 +0000

Abortion numbers in the UK are the highest in Europe with 219,336 terminations taking place in one year according to a new study. Britain also has the highest number of abortions for girls under 20 with 48,150 of the abortions falling into this age group. These figures, released by the Institute for Family Policies, are the latest [...]

Video: free speech win in gay hate law

Sam Wylie — Thu, 12 Nov 2009 09:50:58 +0000

The Government has today accepted Lord Waddington’s free speech clause which underlines the fact that criticising homosexual conduct is not, in itself, a crime. Lord Waddington: free speech is worth fighting for It means the Government’s sexual orientation hatred law includes a protection for the free speech of those who wish to express their beliefs on sexual [...]

Commons Speaker wants gay unions in Parliament

Jane Leung — Wed, 11 Nov 2009 17:10:46 +0000

The Speaker of the House of Commons, John Bercow, agrees with the Prime Minister’s controversial idea that Parliament should host homosexual civil partnership ceremonies. It “isn’t really a question of how many people would benefit from it”, but the principles involved asserted John Bercow, a vocal supporter of ‘gay rights’. Mr Bercow’s comments came in response to [...]

‘Fathers not needed on birth certificates’

Jane Leung — Wed, 11 Nov 2009 16:33:57 +0000

The Government has backtracked on plans to force single mothers to name the father of their baby on birth certificates, under new plans announced by the Children’s Minister. Mothers will now be able to say they do not know who the father is or where he is, under the draft rules for the new birth registration [...]

Scots hospitals deal with 21,000 drunks each year

Sam Wylie — Wed, 11 Nov 2009 16:13:20 +0000

Over 400 drunk people a week are being treated in Scottish hospitals, according to a new study. The research for the Scottish Government found hospital emergency departments are dealing with up to 21,000 people a year who are intoxicated. The costs have been estimated at nearly £2 million each year with £700,000 spent on 1,440 [...]

Equality law set to give Scientologists tax break

Sam Wylie — Wed, 11 Nov 2009 15:44:26 +0000

The Church of Scientology will be given council tax breaks equivalent to the Church of England and the Roman Catholic Church if Harriet Harman’s Equality Bill is made law, it has been claimed. Scientologists have a number of buildings in the UK as well as chaplain’s houses and critics argue that both would be given [...]

David Cameron: “I have faith and it is important”

Matt Jess — Wed, 11 Nov 2009 09:38:07 +0000

Conservative Party leader David Cameron has said that he has faith in God and that the Church of England and other churches “play a very important role in society”. However, Mr Cameron clarified that his faith “grows hotter and colder by moments”, that he does not feel he has a “direct line” to God, and that [...]

Free speech shield voted down by MPs

Jane Leung — Tue, 10 Nov 2009 16:05:01 +0000

The House of Commons voted to remove a free speech shield in the ‘homophobic hatred’ law last night. MPs voted 342 to 145 in favour of repealing the free speech protection during a debate on Lords amendments in the Coroners and Justice Bill. The Bill will now ‘ping pong’ back to the House of Lords where it [...]

Doctors voice concerns over DPP’s assisted suicide policy

Jane Leung — Tue, 10 Nov 2009 15:40:02 +0000

Leading doctors fear that fellow practitioners could help someone kill themselves but avoid prosecution under proposed guidance on prosecuting assisted suicide cases. The British Medical Association (BMA) have asked Keir Starmer, the Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP), for “further clarification” about the role of doctors under proposed guidelines, which are due to be finalised next year. [...]

Official figures ‘inaccurate’ say Down’s research group

Sam Wylie — Tue, 10 Nov 2009 15:27:49 +0000

Abortions of babies with Down’s syndrome may be much higher than Government statistics show, according to a national Down’s registering group. The National Down’s Syndrone Cytogenetic Register (NDSCR) point to their own figures and compare them with official statistics which are gathered from abortion registration forms signed by two doctors. The alternative figures from the [...]

The best parents balance discipline with love: study

Matt Jess — Tue, 10 Nov 2009 12:11:01 +0000

A major study has concluded that children who receive ‘tough love’– a combination of warmth and discipline – from their parents have the best chance of doing well in life. The study found that parenting style, not economic background, is the most important factor determining a child’s development of positive qualities such as self-control, empathy and [...]

Police visit mum after shop smack warning

Sam Wylie — Mon, 09 Nov 2009 14:49:20 +0000

A mother who warned her naughty children they may be smacked was followed home by an off-duty police officer and later questioned. The incident happened while the mother, 34, was out shopping at a Southampton supermarket. She had warned her children, aged eleven and four, that if they continued to misbehave they would get a [...]

Free speech shield must be kept in law say MP and Peer

Sam Wylie — Mon, 09 Nov 2009 14:00:14 +0000

A Conservative Peer and Labour MP have joined forces in writing to The Times calling for the free speech shield to be preserved in the ‘homophobic hatred’ law. Lord Waddington and David Taylor MP expressed concern at a Government move to strike out the free speech protection clause. Their letter says: “The politically motivated trampling of [...]

Ladele appeal judgment expected by Christmas

Sam Wylie — Fri, 06 Nov 2009 17:02:29 +0000

A Court of Appeal ruling is expected before Christmas in the case of Lillian Ladele – the Christian registrar disciplined for her views on same sex civil partnerships. The appeal was heard on Monday and Tuesday by the Master of the Rolls, Lord Neuberger, and two other Lord Justices of Appeal. It is believed to be [...]

Chief Rabbi: ‘Europe will die by selfish secularism’

Jane Leung — Fri, 06 Nov 2009 16:14:06 +0000

Europe is a “dying” continent because its secular culture means people are too selfish to marry and have children, warned the Chief Rabbi yesterday. Lord Sacks blamed Europe’s declining population on a culture of “consumerism and instant gratification”. Quoting the famous slogan used by cosmetics company L’Oreal, he criticised Europe as a culture based on [...]

Parents lose sex ed opt-out for kids, 15

Jane Leung — Fri, 06 Nov 2009 16:07:47 +0000

Parents will lose the right to withdraw their children from sex education lessons when they turn 15, the Children’s Secretary announced yesterday. Should 15-year-olds be forced to have sex education? Listen to The Christian Institute’s Mike Judge debate the issue on BBC News Faith schools will be forced to teach pupils about contraception and homosexuality despite their [...]

Ex BBC head: let atheists break in to religious slot

Sam Wylie — Fri, 06 Nov 2009 15:06:28 +0000

Lord Birt, a former Director General of the BBC, has said the broadcaster should let atheists muscle in on Radio 4’s Thought for the Day. Critics say that a secular bias already dominates 177 minutes of the Today Programme which carries the three minute Thought for the Day slot. But Lord Birt, who led the BBC [...]

Family stores cord tissue for stem cells

Sam Wylie — Fri, 06 Nov 2009 13:07:47 +0000

A family from Cheshire have become the first in the UK to store tissue from their son’s umbilical cord which could be used to help cure the family of illnesses in the future. Pro-lifers support the move because, unlike the use of embryonic stem cells, the use of stem cells from cord tissue does not [...]

London march for Sharia abandoned

Sam Wylie — Fri, 06 Nov 2009 12:33:37 +0000

A proposed London march of Muslim extremists calling for Sharia law to be implemented in the UK has been cancelled for security reasons. Islam4UK was planning to march from the Houses of Parliament to Trafalgar Square. Anjem Choudary, who fronts the group, is also the leader of the radical Islamic sect Al Muhajiroun, and [...]

Hundreds protest at sex swap Jesus play

Sam Wylie — Thu, 05 Nov 2009 16:38:59 +0000

Hundreds of Christians have held a candlelit protest against a taxpayer-funded Glasgow play which portrays Jesus as a transsexual. Jesus, Queen of Heaven is part of the Glasgay! festival in Scotland, and is advertised as: “Jesus is a transsexual woman. And it is now she walks the earth. “This is a play with music [...]

Sperm and egg created in lab by USA scientists

Sam Wylie — Thu, 05 Nov 2009 12:30:20 +0000

US scientists claim to have created human eggs and sperm in a laboratory, sparking ethical concerns. Scientists in California used embryonic stem cells to create sperm which were reasonably mature and eggs at an early stage of development. But pro-life groups have expressed concern at the breakthrough which has been described as “unethical”. Scientists at Stanford [...]

PM: we were right to sack Prof Nutt

Sam Wylie — Thu, 05 Nov 2009 12:03:00 +0000

The Prime Minister, drug experts and parents affected by cannabis have all come out in support of the Government’s decision to sack one of its drug advisers. Professor David Nutt, the former chairman of the Advisory Council on the Misuse of Drugs (ACMD), was sacked on Friday after he made comments criticising the Government’s reclassification [...]

Maine voters latest to turn down same-sex marriage

Matt Jess — Thu, 05 Nov 2009 11:02:23 +0000

Maine has become the latest US state to reject same-sex marriage after a “people’s veto” received support from a majority of voters. Proposals to legalise ‘gay marriage’ have now failed in all 31 states in which they have been put to a popular vote. The five states which have legalised same-sex marriage have done so through the [...]

Attempt to weaken sex trade proposal dismissed by Lords

Matt Jess — Wed, 04 Nov 2009 17:21:24 +0000

The House of Lords last night rejected a final attempt to weaken the Government’s proposed new law to tackle sex trafficking. The Government wants to criminalise anyone paying for sex with a prostitute who is being exploited by someone else, whether or not he knows about her situation. It hopes the proposal, Clause 14 of the [...]

Italians outraged by European Court’s classroom crucifix ban

Matt Jess — Wed, 04 Nov 2009 11:41:56 +0000

The European Court of Human Rights has caused uproar in Italy by banning crucifixes from the country’s school classrooms. The Court ruled that the practice of hanging crucifixes in classrooms violated parents’ right to educate their children according to their own wishes. It also said crucifixes infringed children’s right to freedom of religion because they could [...]

US abortion boss quits after viewing abortion ultrasound

Matt Jess — Wed, 04 Nov 2009 10:19:57 +0000

The director of an abortion clinic in Texas has quit her job after watching ultrasound footage of an abortion – and joined a pro-life group which protests outside the facility. Watch a US news report Abby Johnson, 29, spent eight years working at the Planned Parenthood centre in Bryan, Texas, two of them as director. Miss Johnson said [...]

Abortion increases risk of depression, study shows

Jane Leung — Tue, 03 Nov 2009 15:07:47 +0000

Women who have an abortion are at greater risk of suffering from anxiety and depression, according to a new study. Researchers in New Zealand examined the medical history of over 500 women and concluded that those who reported having adverse reactions to a previous abortion were up to 80 per cent more likely to have [...]

Schools’ ‘text for morning- after pill’ scheme expands

Matt Jess — Tue, 03 Nov 2009 14:44:21 +0000

A scheme encouraging schoolgirls as young as 11 to request the morning-after pill by text message is to be expanded. After an initial trial among six secondary schools, Oxfordshire Primary Care Trust (PCT) hopes to roll out the scheme across the county. The scheme, which allows schoolgirls to text requests for the morning-after pill to a school [...]

Parliament to host its first civil partnership ceremony

Matt Jess — Tue, 03 Nov 2009 14:43:49 +0000

A gay MP is planning to stage the first civil partnership ceremony within the Westminster Palace estate. Chris Bryant, Minister for Europe and Labour MP for The Rhondda, intends to enter into a civil partnership in March next year and said: “We’d like to do it in Parliament if possible.” There is a 14th Century chapel within [...]

Nutt dismissal: expert backs Govt’s policy on illegal drugs

Matt Jess — Mon, 02 Nov 2009 16:45:23 +0000

In the wake of the sacking of drugs adviser David Nutt, a drug harm expert has spoken out in defence of current drugs law. Home Secretary Alan Johnson sacked Professor Nutt for “crossing the line” between offering advice and “campaigning against” Government decisions. His action has received the backing of a high profile expert on drug harm. Neil [...]

Drugs adviser sacked for ‘campaigning’ against law

Matt Jess — Mon, 02 Nov 2009 16:15:58 +0000

The Government’s chief drugs adviser has been sacked for “crossing the line” into political campaigning against drugs laws. The decision was made by Home Secretary Alan Johnson after Professor David Nutt made headlines for claiming that cannabis and ecstasy were less dangerous than cigarettes and alcohol. Mr Johnson told Prof Nutt that he had “lost confidence” [...]

Church worker fights for life after stabbing

Matt Jess — Fri, 30 Oct 2009 15:53:50 +0000

A volunteer church worker is critically ill in hospital after being stabbed at a church event aimed at keeping teenagers away from crime. The 41-year-old was stabbed repeatedly when he confronted a gang of rowdy youths outside a meeting for young Christians in Deptford, south east London. A 16-year-old boy who stepped in to help him was [...]

A wife is a wife, not a ‘partner’, says judge

Matt Jess — Fri, 30 Oct 2009 15:31:13 +0000

A judge has criticised the practice of referring to a wife as a ‘partner’, saying that it downgrades marriage. Judge George Bathurst-Norman voiced his frustration during a court hearing at Chelmsford Crown Court. When a probation officer’s report referred to the accused’s wife as his ‘partner’ the judge asked: “Why is it the modern idiom believes [...]

Cannabis and ecstasy safer than cigarettes, says Nutt

Matt Jess — Fri, 30 Oct 2009 14:47:59 +0000

The Government’s chief drug adviser has criticised ministers’ decision to reclassify cannabis back to class B. Professor David Nutt, who is chairman of the Advisory Council on the Misuse of Drugs (ACMD), also claimed that ecstasy, LSD and cannabis are less dangerous than alcohol and cigarettes. Prof Nutt made his comments in a lecture and briefing [...]

Struck off foster carer case set for High Court

Sam Wylie — Fri, 30 Oct 2009 14:24:19 +0000

A foster carer who was deregistered because she allowed a Muslim girl, 16, to convert to Christianity has been granted leave by the High Court to challenge the decision. The court will begin hearing the case on 3 March next year. The hearing is scheduled to last for three days. Archive: LBC radio (Feb 09) To protect the [...]

Ladele case in Court of Appeal on Monday

Sam Wylie — Fri, 30 Oct 2009 13:14:24 +0000

The case of Lillian Ladele – the Christian registrar threatened with dismissal unless she agreed to perform homosexual civil partnership registrations – is in the Court of Appeal on Monday. BBC News, 19 May 2008 The Christian Institute’s Mike Judge debates the issue with Stonewall’s Derek Munn BBC News, 10 July 2008 Miss Ladele wins her case at [...]

School receptionist tribunal date is set

Sam Wylie — Fri, 30 Oct 2009 11:49:36 +0000

The case of Jennie Cain, the school receptionist who was disciplined for sending a prayer email, will be heard by an employment tribunal starting on 22 March. Archive: a BBC news report (Feb 09) The hearing will take place in Taunton, Somerset, and is scheduled to last for five days. Lawyers representing Jennie Cain have lodged [...]

Dignitas could be shut down under Swiss law

Sam Wylie — Thu, 29 Oct 2009 14:02:59 +0000

The Swiss Government has published proposals which could close down controversial suicide centre Dignitas. More than 100 Britons have killed themselves at the Dignitas facility in Zurich. Two options will be presented to the Swiss Parliament, one of which would make assisted suicide centres illegal. The other option is for tighter controls to be placed on suicide organisations. [...]

C4 News calls Pauline Howe’s letter a crime

Mike Judge — Wed, 28 Oct 2009 18:31:33 +0000

Channel 4 News last night called a Christian grandmother who objected to a gay pride parade a criminal on the same spectrum as the killers of a gay man in Trafalgar Square. Watch the remark The case of Pauline Howe, 67, hit the headlines on Sunday because her letter of complaint was investigated by police as a [...]

BNP’s values are not Christian, says Bishop

Jane Leung — Wed, 28 Oct 2009 17:23:27 +0000

The values held by the British National Party are not Christian, the former Bishop of Rochester has asserted. Bishop Michael Nazir-Ali has warned that the BNP’s “narrow, racist vision” is not in line with Christian traditions. He said: “We must not allow the BNP to hijack the association of ‘Christian’ with ‘Britain’ for its own quite [...]

Another 13-year-old boy to become a dad

Sam Wylie — Wed, 28 Oct 2009 12:23:30 +0000

A boy from Dorset has become the second 13-year-old this month to get his teenage girlfriend pregnant. Earlier this month it was revealed that a boy from Manchester was “chuffed to bits” to be a dad at 13. Now another boy the same age – this time from Dorset – is set to become a father [...]

Gay blood ban to be reviewed

Jane Leung — Tue, 27 Oct 2009 17:15:57 +0000

Fresh attempts are being made to overturn a longstanding safeguard which stops blood donations from men who have engaged in sexual activity with other men. Under current rules a man who has had anal intercourse with another man is not allowed to donate blood because such sexual behaviour is medically dangerous. The National Blood Service (NBS) [...]

Peer’s bid to legalise assisted suicide fails

Jane Leung — Tue, 27 Oct 2009 16:20:54 +0000

An 11th hour bid to legalise assisted suicide failed in the House of Lords last night after the amendment was withdrawn. Lord Alderdice tabled his amendment to the Coroners and Justice Bill last week. It would have allowed the assisted suicide of people with an incurable illness provided they had a signed certificate from a coroner [...]

Three Down’s babies terminated every day

Jane Leung — Tue, 27 Oct 2009 13:03:58 +0000

Three Down’s syndrome babies are aborted every day as the number of Down’s pregnancies increases, according to the Daily Telegraph. Researchers said that nine in ten women who find out they are having a baby with Down’s syndrome opt for a termination. The number of Down’s syndrome pregnancies has risen by more than 70 per [...]

Media outrage over police probe of Christian granny

Mike Judge — Tue, 27 Oct 2009 12:52:18 +0000

The case of Pauline Howe, the Christian grandmother investigated by police for objecting to a gay pride parade, has provoked strong debate in the media. ITV Anglia News report featuring the Institute’s Mike Judge It featured on ITV’s Anglia News last night with an organiser of the gay pride march supporting the police action because “there are [...]

BNP must not be allowed to hijack faith, says Lord Carey

Sam Wylie — Mon, 26 Oct 2009 17:09:52 +0000

The former Archbishop of Canterbury says that the BNP must not be allowed to hijack Christianity. Lord Carey said all Christians must stand “shoulder-to-shoulder in rejection of Nick Griffin’s notion that ‘Christianity’ has anything to do with his despicable views”. Lord Carey made the comments in light of the BNP leader’s recent appearance on the BBC’s [...]

Video: police quiz Christian pensioner over gay beliefs

Mike Judge — Sun, 25 Oct 2009 10:05:49 +0000

A Christian pensioner was verbally abused at a gay pride parade but when she complained to her local council, the police investigated her for ‘homophobic hatred’. Mrs Howe speaks of her shock at being visited by the police Mrs Pauline Howe, 67, says she was the victim of a number of sexually explicit verbal attacks while she [...]

Lord Waddington: Free speech is not hateful

Sam Wylie — Fri, 23 Oct 2009 15:13:59 +0000

We risk criminalising the innocent if we remove a free speech shield from the ‘homophobic hatred’ law, a former Home Secretary has said. Lord Waddington, writing for the Guardian website, says “Civil liberty surely implies the freedom to express your own views, and with it a readiness to defend the right of others to express their [...]

Top cop: free speech clause in ‘gay hate’ law is essential

Matt Jess — Fri, 23 Oct 2009 15:02:15 +0000

Removing free speech protection from a ‘homophobic incitement’ law will put the police in a “virtual straitjacket”, says a former chief constable. Lord Dear, who is also a former HM Inspector of Constabulary, said the free speech protection is “essential” if police officers are to enforce the Government’s ‘homophobic hatred’ law with “good judgment and a [...]

MEP: EU seen as cold place for Christianity

Sam Wylie — Fri, 23 Oct 2009 14:43:33 +0000

An Irish MEP says the EU is seen as a “cold place for Christianity”. Gay Mitchell MEP, speaking in the European Parliament, said he had experienced a lack of respect from people about his religious belief. Mr Mitchell said there are “people here who see themselves as fair minded and liberal but who are anything [...]

Alcohol toll: rising deaths and hospital admissions

Matt Jess — Fri, 23 Oct 2009 14:13:51 +0000

Shocking new figures have revealed the scale of alcohol-related deaths and hospital admissions in England. Every year nearly 9,000 people die from diseases directly caused by alcohol, while admissions to hospital with alcohol-related conditions reached 860,000 last year. Senior health professionals have said the impact of alcohol is “becoming a public health emergency” and called for tough [...]

Peer’s 11th hour bid to legalise assisted suicide

Matt Jess — Fri, 23 Oct 2009 12:55:19 +0000

A Peer in the House of Lords has launched another bid to legalise assisted suicide, just weeks after the House rejected a different attempt to weaken the law. Lord Alderdice has tabled an amendment to the Coroners and Justice Bill, which is scheduled for a Report Stage debate in the House of Lords on Monday. During a [...]

Government home ed plans ‘deeply sinister’

Jane Leung — Thu, 22 Oct 2009 15:47:00 +0000

The Government is taking its powers “a step too far” if officials are allowed to question children without their parents present, warns a Daily Telegraph columnist. Philip Johnston, writing about new proposals for controlling home-schooling families, said parents should oppose the “pied pipers of Whitehall”. Under the new proposals, Government officials will have the power to [...]

Secular Thought for the Day decision expected

Jane Leung — Thu, 22 Oct 2009 15:40:08 +0000

The BBC Trust is expected to announce within weeks a decision on whether to allow secular and humanist views on its Radio 4 slot, Thought for the Day. Secularists argue that their views should feature during the three-minute religious slot but critics say that the Today Programme, which it features in, is already dominated by [...]

Barnardo’s calls for more gays to adopt

Jane Leung — Thu, 22 Oct 2009 11:53:46 +0000

The children’s charity Barnardo’s is looking for more same-sex couples and individuals to adopt, its head of adoption has told a gay news website. Carolyn Oliver, head of adoption at the charity, says she wants to ensure gays and lesbians are aware of their adoption rights. She told PinkNews.co.uk: “We’re looking for gay couples and individuals [...]

Tate set to lose thousands over nude Brooke Shields

Sam Wylie — Thu, 22 Oct 2009 10:24:37 +0000

The Tate Modern may lose thousands of pounds from exhibition catalogues which show a nude picture of Brooke Shields aged ten. The gallery displayed the nude image last month but removed it after police from the Obscene Publications Unit visited the gallery. However, the image is reproduced in a catalogue printed to accompany the exhibition. Tate [...]

Assisted suicide must stay illegal, say MLAs

Sam Wylie — Thu, 22 Oct 2009 10:16:28 +0000

Two Northern Ireland MLAs have spoken out against any weakening of the law on assisted suicide, saying it should be “strenuously opposed”. Jeffrey Donaldson and Simon Hamilton made clear their opposition to any attempt to weaken the law on assisted suicide, which is currently illegal. Last month the Director of Public Prosecutions for England and Wales, [...]

BBC slurs evangelicals in home school debate

Mike Judge — Wed, 21 Oct 2009 08:00:02 +0000

Some evangelical parents need monitoring by the state because they may ‘intimidate’ their children with ideas about God, sin and hell, a BBC radio host has said. Listen to the comments: The Government’s Schools Minister replied by saying this is part of the reason for conducting a review of the rules on home education. The comments were made [...]

Minister says Government is not sidelining believers

Sam Wylie — Wed, 21 Oct 2009 07:31:28 +0000

The Government’s Minister for Communities has denied Christians are being marginalised in Labour’s Britain. John Denham, who describes himself as a “secular humanist”, said to a group of church leaders that that neither faith nor believers were being sidelined by the Government. Earlier this month Baroness Warsi, the shadow minister for community cohesion, said there was [...]

Host civil partnerships in Parliament, says PM

Sam Wylie — Tue, 20 Oct 2009 14:19:30 +0000

Prime Minister Gordon Brown has today called for gay couples to be allowed to have civil partnership ceremonies inside Parliament. Watch the Prime Minister’s comments Currently MPs, Lords and their families can get married and hold christenings in the Chapel of St Mary Undercroft inside the Houses of Parliament. But Mr Brown believes Parliament could be used for [...]

Betting machines ripped my life apart, says mum

Sam Wylie — Tue, 20 Oct 2009 14:05:55 +0000

A mother has told the BBC how her life was destroyed by quick-fire betting machines that she calls the ‘heroin’ of gambling. Watch the BBC report Speaking anonymously, she said fixed odds betting machines, known as FOBs, were a real problem for her. They are like a casino and a fruit machine rolled into one. She was sent [...]

Row over schools shut for Muslim, Sikh, Hindu days

Sam Wylie — Tue, 20 Oct 2009 10:11:12 +0000

A London council which shuts its schools on Muslim, Sikh and Hindu holy days is rethinking its calendar. One head teacher told officials conducting a review into the closures she was “frustrated” by the enforced holidays. Waltham Forest Council in East London closes its state schools on Eid-Ul-Fitr, Diwali and Guru Nanak’s Birthday, which are celebrated [...]

British girls aged 12 sold into sex trade

Jane Leung — Tue, 20 Oct 2009 09:25:59 +0000

British girls as young as twelve are being sold to wealthy men for sex at up to £50,000 a time, it has been disclosed. Three women and a man have been arrested in Manchester after secretly being filmed offering to sell six girls aged between 14 and 23 at a five-star West London hotel. They were also [...]

Muslim group: March in UK cities for Sharia

Sam Wylie — Tue, 20 Oct 2009 08:57:42 +0000

A radical Muslim group wants to hold a series of marches in British cities calling for Sharia law to be implemented throughout the UK. The group, Islam4UK, is fronted by Anjem Choudary. While publicising the march he called on the Queen and other prominent British figures to become Muslims. Watch Mr Choudary’s speech Islam4UK is planning [...]

UK may tell overseas outposts to drop God

Mike Judge — Mon, 19 Oct 2009 14:33:54 +0000

The Foreign Office may tell two of Britain’s overseas territories to cut references to Christianity from their constitutions. The elimination of Christianity from the documents is being urged by a committee of MPs that looks at foreign affairs issues. The Foreign Office says the suggestion is being “carefully considered”. But the Bishop of Winchester says the idea [...]

Massive pro-life march in Madrid

Sam Wylie — Mon, 19 Oct 2009 12:44:00 +0000

Up to two million people took to the streets in Spain on Saturday to protest against Government plans to weaken the country’s abortion law. Watch a CNN report from the march Spanish citizens took to Madrid’s streets under a huge banner that read: “Every Life Matters”. Organisers said people travelled to the rally from various cities across [...]

Dutch anti-Islam MP enters Britain

Jane Leung — Fri, 16 Oct 2009 14:28:14 +0000

A controversial Dutch MP previously banned from Britain because of his outspoken views on Islam landed in London this morning and held a press conference in Parliament. Last week he successfully overturned the ban. Speaking inside Westminster today, he said being in Britain was “a victory for freedom of speech”. A Home Office spokesman said the [...]

Late term abortion stats to be public

Matt Jess — Fri, 16 Oct 2009 13:29:57 +0000

Pro-lifers have won a court battle with the Government meaning that officials cannot hide the number of babies aborted for treatable disabilities. The ruling by the Information Tribunal has been hailed as a victory for “transparency”. In its ruling the Tribunal said that it was satisfied that disclosure would not contravene Data Protection Principles and would not [...]

‘Abortion addict’ has 15 terminations in 17 years

Jane Leung — Thu, 15 Oct 2009 13:27:12 +0000

A self-confessed ‘abortion addict’ has written a book about how she had 15 abortions in 17 years because of a “controlling” husband who didn’t want children. One pro-lifer said this shows how “abortion is part of a very sad story for women”. Although the author remains pro-abortion, she admits: “My story is a perversion of both maternal [...]

Outrage at Bible defacing art exhibit sparks review

Jane Leung — Wed, 14 Oct 2009 11:56:33 +0000

A decision has been taken to review procedures which allowed a Bible to be defaced during a gay art exhibition in a taxpayer-funded gallery. The head of the Scottish arts body responsible has ordered a major review to prevent future exhibitions from sparking the same public outrage. Obscene and offensive messages were scrawled over the pages [...]

Dutch anti-Islam MP gets UK ban reversed

Jane Leung — Wed, 14 Oct 2009 11:09:05 +0000

A Dutch MP can now enter the UK after winning his appeal against a Home Office decision in February which barred him from entering the country because of his anti-Islam views. Geert Wilders, the maker of anti-Koran film Fitna, described the decision as a “victory for freedom of speech” and plans to visit “as soon [...]

Church faces closure after council bans ‘noisy’ hymns

Jane Leung — Wed, 14 Oct 2009 10:03:25 +0000

Another church could be forced to close after a local council said that the hymns were too loud. It is the second such case to hit the headlines in the last few days. The congregation will now struggle to hear the music and the sermon at All Nations Centre in Kennington, South London, after Lambeth [...]

Obama: Gay relationships just as ‘real and admirable’

Matt Jess — Tue, 13 Oct 2009 16:20:40 +0000

President Obama has committed himself to the goal that Americans will one day recognise same-sex relationships as “just as real and admirable as relationships between a man and a woman”. Mr Obama’s “unprecedented” remarks were hailed by his audience at a dinner for a high-profile ‘gay rights’ group in Washington DC on Saturday. Joe Salmonese, president of [...]

Sentamu slams TV shows glamorising prostitution

Jane Leung — Tue, 13 Oct 2009 12:37:20 +0000

The Archbishop of York has hit out at the glamorisation of prostitution as a “middle class trade” through its fictional portrayal on television. Dr John Sentamu blamed books and television dramas such as ITV’s Secret Diary of a Call Girl, which follows the life of its main character, Belle de Jour, a high-end prostitute. He criticised [...]

Children come before career for ‘real’ women, study finds

Matt Jess — Mon, 12 Oct 2009 15:42:59 +0000

A new report has criticised Government policies which push women into employment after finding that most find fulfilment in motherhood rather than in full time careers. The report was written by Cristina Odone, a former deputy editor of the New Statesman magazine, and published by the Centre for Policy Studies. Using figures from recent polls conducted [...]

Students offered booze bribes to take sex tests

Jane Leung — Mon, 12 Oct 2009 14:51:05 +0000

Students are being offered free alcohol in exchange for agreeing to be tested for sexually transmitted infections (STIs), under a new scheme being rolled out on campuses across the country. Willing participants are given tokens which can be exchanged for alcoholic drinks under the scheme devised by the National Union of Students (NUS). But press reports [...]