Secular Society wins test case

A TEST case bid to outlaw prayers before local council meetings has been won by the National Secular Society and an atheist councillor.

They challenged the practice of Bideford town council, Devon, of having religious prayers on meeting agendas.

Yesterday Mr Justice Ouseley, sitting in London, ruled: “Saying prayers as part of the formal meeting of a council is not lawful under section 111 of the Local Government Act 1972, and there is no statutory power permitting the practice to continue.”

The legal challenge was launched after the society was contacted by a non-believer who was then a Bideford councillor.