On 10 March Rev. Barry Trayhorn lost his appeal at an Employment Tribunal for discrimination and constructive dismissal by HMP Littlehey.
Mr Trayhorn, an ordained Pentecostal minister, worked at the prison for sex offenders as a gardener. At the invitation of the Chaplain he led some chapel services on a voluntary basis. Complaints were made after a service in May 2014, in which Mr Trayhorn spoke of the wonder of God’s forgiveness for those who repent, quoting 1 Corinthians 6.9-11 from memory. He was barred from leading future services and as a result of the way in which he was subsequently treated by the prison management he resigned from his job.
The Tribunal ruled that he spoke of God’s forgiveness in an ‘insensitive’ way which ‘failed to have regard for the special nature of the congregation in the prison’.
Mr Trayhorn said: ‘When the Equality Act went through Parliament, the Government said that Ministers of Religion, speaking in a Church would continue to be able to teach and preach what their faith had traditionally believed. It is clear that this is no longer the case.
