British Christian activist group Christian Concern has targeted Eric Pickles, David Cameron’s Communities Secretary, for what they consider discrimination against Christians by the government despite its claims to hold to Christian values.
Pickles department, which runs the QEII Conference Centre in London, cancelled hosting a conference on marriage, run by Christian Concern, the day before the event was scheduled to take place stating that it was “inappropriate” for it to be held at a government venue.
But on April 6th Pickles was widely reported as saying that militant atheists should “get over it” and accept that Britain is a Christian country. This brought a response from Christian Concern Director Andrea Williams live on BBC Radio 4, who challenged Pickles to testify against his own department (in their suit brought against his department) if those were in fact his beliefs.
Williams stated: “We’ve heard the Prime Minister and now the Communities Secretary defend Britain’s Christian heritage. But if their comments are going to be more than just hollow soundbites, somebody needs to back up these words with action. Mr Pickles now has that opportunity by giving evidence against his own department. He should intervene to stop the centre from pursuing costs against us, and ensure that the centre is open to us in the future.”
Williams and Christian Concern backed up their claims in a letter to Pickles which has been made publicly available and can be seen here.
The letter states in part that the planned conference was originally scheduled to be held at the Law Society who also cancelled, apparently for politically correct reasons. The wording in the letter suggests that a settlement was reached with Christian Concern and that the terms include no further discussion.
Subsequently the QEII Conference Center was employed as a new host. The letter to Pickles states that “Many high profile speakers agreed to speak, including, inter alia, a High Court Judge, Christine Odone of the Daily Telegraph and Mr Phillip Blond of Respublica. Many varied views not just Christian views were going to be expressed at this conference.”
The letter goes on to point out facts that will no doubt feature in the court case against the government showing their discrimination against Christians. In employment law for example the government has advocated against the wearing of Christian Crosses but in favour of the wearing of the Hijab. Furthermore the government has suggested that Christians should leave their jobs if they cannot suitably express their faith in the workplace. Muslims it seems are always accommodated!
Christian Concern also points out the lecture by Lady Hale at Yale University last month when she states that the government’s Equality and Human Rights Commission “has previously described Christian beliefs on sexual morality as akin to infection”.
The case, according to the Christian Concern website, is now in the Central London County Court with Christian Concern and Andrea Williams as claimants and Eric Pickles and the QEII Conference Centre as defendants. Pickles department is already estimating costs of £50,000, which they will claim against Williams and Christian Concern if they win.
“This kind of threat”, states the letter to the Communities Secretary “has a profound chilling impact on any person or organisation wishing to challenge the closing down of freedom of speech and expression.” Williams goes on to say: “The British public has the right to know whether the expression of Christian belief and values on the subject of marriage (and other issues) is ‘inappropriate’ to be heard at a venue run by your Department. … You are the Minister responsible and should answer for the policy of the Queen Elizabeth II Conference Centre.”
Ironically this past Sunday Pickles was covered by the left-wing Guardian attacking atheists highlighted by the “atheists get over it” statement. The Guardian story shows that Pickles authored law that ensured that English parish councils could not face legal challenges for including prayers in public meetings.
Further, according to the Guardian, he told delegates at the Conservative spring forum in London that non-believers should not be able to impose ‘politically correct intolerance’ on others. He also said, that “the government had backed British values by stopping Whitehall from ‘appeasing extremism’, whether it came from the English Defence League, militant Islamists or ‘the thuggish hard left’.”
But it seems that Pickles, a key player in the Cameron 2010 election team as party Chair, has his own ideas on what Christianity should and shouldn’t tolerate. When he talks of not imposing politically correct intolerance this seems to cover anything he doesn’t believe. And that includes evangelical Christian beliefs!
Following on from the ongoing fiasco with London Mayor Boris Johnson refusing traditional marriage ads on London Buses, the government appears to have taken too big a bite from the proverbial apple for some people’s likes.
The Bristol Post has reportedly lost “thousands of sales” after publishing a picture of two homosexual men kissing on its front page to mark the city’s first same-sex marriage. Editor Mike Norton said the drop in sales surprised him as the paper received only nine complaints.
This illustrates how out of touch politicians and journalists can become, especially when they become consumed with promoting an ideological agenda regardless of the facts, the actual news, or the direction of public opinion.
Cameron and his political team either need to wake up and smell the coffee they have brewed for the last four years or, as is almost certain, they will face major judgment at the ballot box in the May Euro elections.
