Christian registrar to appeal over gay weddings

The Christian registrar threatened with the sack when she refused to marry gay couples is taking her case to the Court of Appeal.

Lillian Ladele, 48, from Finsbury, has vowed to win what has become a landmark Christian rights case.

The Christian Institute, which has pledged to fund her case, said she would go directly to the Court of Appeal after the Employment Appeal Tribunal overturned the religious discrimination claim she won at an earlier hearing.

Mike Judge, a spokesman for The Christian Institute, said: "Clearly this is an issue on which people on both sides have strong feelings. But we think Lillian has been treated unfairly and that's what we will be saying to the Court of Appeal.

"We believe the decision that Islington council took to discipline Lillian for not doing civil partnerships was an over-reaction. They need to respect the rights of their religious employees too."

Miss Ladele was a registrar for more than a decade before civil partnerships were introduced in 2005. She claims she was bullied and threatened with the sack when she told Islington council she did not want to carry them out.