Unfair attack on adoption move

IN HIS letter (9 March) Mr Alistair McBay, National Secular Society, Edinburgh, not only accuses St Margaret’s adoption agency of unlawful discrimination but also makes the serious accusation that the Scottish Charity Appeals Panel has made a “politically motivated decision”.

The panel is an independent legal tribunal which heard evidence and legal argument over several days and gave a detailed legal decision quoting the Equality Act, Human Rights Act and Charity Law. It made a legal judgment, not a political decision.

The Equality Act provides specific legal exemptions for religious organisations and the panel accepted that in law St Margaret’s was entitled to rely on those exemptions. The panel decided that St Margaret’s was acting lawfully, and not unlawfully as Mr McBay alleges. Mr McBay should study what the law actually says before making wild accusations.

Neil Addison (Barrister at Law), National Director, Thomas More Legal Centre

Related topics: