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Wednesday 3 December 2008

Christian counsellor “wins” case

The Christian counsellor who wouldn’t work with gays has virtually won his case at an employment tribunal.

The UK counselling charity Relate agreed today that it wrongfully dismissed 47-year-old Gary McFarlane, who refused to offer sexual technique advice to homosexual couples, although an employment tribunal's final ruling won't be known for some weeks.

At the tribunal, the Avon branch of Relate conceded a wrongful-dismissal claim by McFarlane, who, according to the Independent “had said it was against his religious beliefs to offer psycho-sexual therapy (PST) to same-sex couples.

“Keith Knight, counsel for Relate, accepted that the charity wrongfully dismissed Mr McFarlane on the grounds of gross misconduct and should have given him notice to leave after deciding they had lost trust and confidence in his ability,” says the paper.

“Mr McFarlane, a 47-year-old father of two who lives in Hanham, Bristol, is a former clinical negligence lawyer and church elder and now works as a law mediator in London.”

See our previous post here.

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