Bishop accused of blocking gay man's job will face a tribunal

13 April 2012

A bishop accused of refusing to employ a youth worker because he was gay is facing a landmark legal battle this week.

The Right Reverend Anthony Priddis, Bishop of Hereford, will be called before an employment tribunal to answer allegations that he broke discrimination laws.

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Bishop Anthony Priddis: Letter of rejection

John Reaney, 41, from North Wales, said he was told a job offer was a 'formality' after winning the unanimous backing of an eightstrong interview panel which included two vicars.

But he was summoned to meet the bishop where he was asked intimate questions about his private life. He was then told in a letter he could not be offered the job because he was a practising homosexual.

The tribunal case is the first test of how far anti-discrimination laws apply to the Church of England and is expected to fuel tensions between the gay rights movement and religious leaders.

Equality laws passed in 2003 made it illegal to discriminate against workers because of their sexual orientation.

But religious organisations were given an exemption and are allowed to turn down practising homosexuals for clerical roles.

The bishop's lawyers are expected to argue that lay appointments should also be free from the anti-discrimination laws.

If they are successful, the Church would be able to block other actively gay candidates from nonclerical positions such as youth workers or press officers.

But Mr Reaney's solicitors say the bishop had no right to bar him, arguing that heterosexual staff were never asked similar questions about their private lives.

Alison Downie, partner and head of employment at Bindman and Partners, said: 'My client is a committed Christian who has devoted his life to sharing his Christian faith with others.

'He regrets having to bring this claim but he felt he had no option. The church discriminated against him on the grounds of his sexual orientation when the Bishop of Hereford refused to confirm his appointment to the post.'

Ben Summerskill, chief executive of the gay equality organisation Stonewall, which is funding the action, said: 'It is utterly inappropriate that the Church or anyone else should seek to summarily dismiss or refuse to employ someone on the basis of sexual orientation.

'This is the first time that this will be tested in a completely open tribunal and it is absolutely proper that the Bishop of Hereford himself is required to attend.'

The 59-year-old bishop has been married for 33 years and has two sons and one daughter. His wife, Kathy, is an acclaimed portrait painter.

He was appointed Bishop of Hereford in June 2004.

A golf fanatic, he caused uproar in his previous post as Bishop of Warwick when he publicly gave thanks to God for the Ryder Cup while helping to open the 2002 competition. He lists his other interests as walking the dogs, gardening and watching sport.

The Archbishop of Canterbury, Dr Rowan Williams, said last week he wanted the Anglican church to be a 'safe place' for homosexuals. A spokesman for the Diocese of Hereford said last night: 'We expect the same sexual standards from our support ministers or lay ministers as we do from our clergy.'

In January, Cardinal Cormac Murphy- O'Connor, leader of Roman Catholics in England and Wales, threatened to close Catholic adoption agencies unless they were exempt from laws that would stop them refusing to place children with gay couples.

Mr Reaney's hearing opens in Cardiff on Wednesday.

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