Gay 'marriages' may get legal rights

The Government is considering giving homosexual partners some of the legal rights of married couples, says Equality Minister Lady Morgan.

There is widespread support among Labour MPs for the extension of a scheme pioneered by Mayor Ken Livingstone which allows gay couples to record their relationship in a civil register.

The aim is to extend the kind of pension and inheritance benefits which would go to widows or widowers. The scheme has been dubbed "gay marriage" although there is no need for a formal ceremony and no religious recognition.

Lady Morgan, the Minister for Women and Equality, said the Government was looking closely at the London experiment, and similar schemes in other European Union countries.

She added: "I think there is space for a discussion on those issues. There are clearly areas where most people would recognise that at the moment there is some unfairness."