UK & Ireland in Brief

Felix Ngole is taking legal action against a health and wellbeing charity after claiming his job offer as a mental health support worker was withdrawn after discovering his Christian beliefs on marriage.

With the support of the Christian Legal Centre, Ngole is suing Touchstone Support Leeds for religious discrimination. The case was being heard at an employment tribunal in Leeds at the start of April. A ruling has yet to be handed down. In 2019, the Court of Appeal allowed Ngole’s appeal against a ruling that his removal from a university social work course was lawful, after comments made on social media in support of traditional Biblical teaching on marriage.

Nicola Laver 

A university lecturer, James Wilson, has been awarded a total of £30,000 in damages. The sum of £7,500 was awarded against both James Mendelsohn, a law lecturer and Edward Cantor, a former restauranteur in a claim of defamation and the sum of £22,500 was awarded against just James Mendelsohn in respect of misuse of private information.

The judgement was made in the High Court of Justice, King’s Bench Division on 10 April. The judge, His Honour Richard Parkes KC, said that a tweet by Mendelsohn had ‘plainly inflamed feeling against [Wilson] and led to him receiving disgraceful abuse’.

en staff 

Three Christian politicians were asked about how their faith impacts their lives at an Evangelical Alliance (EA) leadership event.

They spoke to 15 people on the EA’s Public Leadership England Programme about how faith influences their work ethic. Former Liberal Democrat leader Tim Farron, Labour MP Rachael Maskell and former Conservative MP David Burrowes all stressed the importance of Christians being politically informed, and also said that humble witness and upholding the truth and integrity are crucial.

Luke Randall 

Affinity has launched a new podcast about gospel ministry and church unity. The show, called Affinity Talks Gospel, will be hosted by Affinity Director and church pastor Graham Nicholls and Lizzie Harewood, who is the Executive Officer at the Association of Christian Teachers.

The podcast will report on the work of the church across the UK, featuring contributions from churches, para-church organisations, projects and Christian movements, which the Affinity website says will enable believers to pray ‘more intelligently’ about various ministries and serve in new ways.

Luke Randall 

The Presbyterian Church of Ireland (PCI) has responded to the Oireachtas Committee’s recommendations to legalise assisted suicide and euthanasia. It said: ‘human life, its preservation, its dignity, and its protection, are moral and precious values, which society casts off at its peril.’

The church called for no changes to be made to existing law on these areas, and argued that proposals such as those put forward by the Committee do not ‘in any way’ reflect a ‘mature, caring and compassionate society’ towards ‘the most vulnerable people.’

Luke Randall 

A new study in the Diocese of Guildford suggests that church involvement in schools is a good thing for children. It found that church visits in schools left children more open to considering life’s biggest questions, and feeling closer to God.

The study has made 20 recommendations to improve the church’s relationships with the schools, including church and school leaders building better relationships, and churches creating reflective spaces for children. The study was part of the Church of England’s efforts to improve their church-school partnerships.

Luke Randall 

A recent survey has shown that 55% of the British public oppose proposals to decriminalise abortion after the 24-week limit, when the baby is healthy. The survey of 2011 adults found that just 16% supported a change in the law. A higher percentage of women than men believe abortion after the 24-week limit should remain a criminal offence.

The study was conducted ahead of parliamentary debate on the Criminal Justice Bill, which could see abortion legislation altered, with amendments to lower the legal limit from to 22 weeks, and to prevent women from being prosecuted for having an abortion after 24 weeks being considered.

Luke Randall 

Many primary school teachers have been allowing children to change gender without informing their parents, which goes against government advice that parents should be involved in decisions, and that schools should not immediately accept requests for social transition, according to a study of over 600 school equality and transgender policies.

The study, released by The Telegraph, revealed that some schools are allowing boys who identify as girls to use girls’ toilets and changing rooms, while some are advising teachers to support girls using breast binders during school trips, and sleeping arrangements are being made based on pupils’ self-identified gender identity.

Luke Randall