15 April 1999
	Age of consent vote welcomed The Christian Institute today welcomed the decision of the House of Lords to block the reduction of the age of homosexual consent from 18 to 16. Colin Hart, Director of the Institute, said today "The House of Lords has voted to protect young people. I pay tribute to Lady Young for all her courageous and unstinting efforts for the family. Tribute must also be paid to the thousands of Christians who wrote letters and committed the matter to prayer. We are delighted that the Archbishop of Canterbury personally voted with Lady Young and that Cardinal Hume made clear his support on the day of the debate in a letter to Times. It would be completely wrong for the Government to use the Parliament Acts to force this measure into law. It was not part of their election manifesto and it is overwhelmingly opposed by the public." Disappointing stand by children's charities "We are very sad that the NSPCC, Barnardos and NCH Action for Children decided to lend their support to gay rights campaigners in such a public way. The full page advertisement in The Times on 13th April backed the age of consent at 16, and in my view wrongly sought to personalise the whole debate. These organisations make no secret of the fact that they also support adoption by homosexuals. I have this in writing from Barnardos and NCH. The NSPCC, although not directly concerned with adoption placements have confirmed by telephone that they would offer advice to a homosexual who wants to adopt a child. Such facts have profoundly undermined my confidence in these organisations." ENDS For Further information Contact : The Christian Institute 0191 281 5664