Christian group welcomes Belfast sex shop ruling

The Christian Institute is delighted that the House of Lords has ruled in favour of Belfast City Council’s decision not to grant a licence for a sex shop in the city centre.

The Institute was involved in successfully objecting to the original application in 2003 – along with applications for five other sex shops in the area.

Baroness Hale, one of the five Law Lords ruling on the matter, said, “There are far more important human rights in this world than the right to sell pornographic literature…”

The Christian Institute’s Northern Ireland Officer, Callum Webster, said today: “This is great news. It shows that councils do have legal powers to refuse sex shops licences. It also means that Belfast City Council can go ahead with its prosecution of six sex shops which are operating without licences in the area.

“It is a credit to Belfast City Council that they have fought this issue. Evidence from America shows that when sex shops are closed down there is a reduction in the number of sex crimes in the vicinity. Sex shops are bad news.”