Christian Institute welcomes decision by the Government to ditch controversial conversion therapy ban plans

Responding to reports that the Government has decided to ditch its’ controversial plans to introduce a ban on conversion therapy, Simon Calvert, Deputy Director at The Christian Institute, commented:

“If the ITV report is correct, this is very welcome news. The Government committed to outlawing ‘conversion therapy’ without any clear view on what that term meant, whether legislation was needed, or what it would look like. After many months of deliberation, they’ve obviously decided it’s just not workable.

“We’ve warned from the start that this was a minefield. Activists wanted the ban to take sides in a theological dispute over the interpretation of scripture. They even specifically called for ‘gentle, non-coercive prayer’ to be criminalised. This would have made it the most religiously repressive UK law in centuries.

“We instructed lawyers to write to the Government warning them that the ban could put the UK in breach of its obligations under the European Convention on Human Rights.

“Many thousands of concerned Christians contacted MPs and responded to the Government consultation. It’s a relief that their arguments have won the day and that Westminster is backing off from a legislative ban. As No. 10 has said, there are existing legislative powers to protect people from abuse and the focus should be on that.”