Christian sacked by NHS... for saying kids need to be raised by a man and a woman
A CHRISTIAN NHS director who was sacked after arguing that it is better for children to be brought up by a mother and father than by a gay couple has lost his claim for religious discrimination.
Richard Page, 71, was suspended from his role at a hospital trust following complaints from gay and lesbian staff who said his views were offensive.
He took his case to an employment tribunal but his claim has been dismissed and his bid to be reinstated as a non-executive director of the NHS trust has been rejected.
Supporters say the decision sets a dangerous precedent and risks undermining free speech. They also say the case demonstrates how difficult those with Christian views now find it to hold public office in modern Britain. Mr Page had previously been sacked as a magistrate.
in the tribunal ruling, Judge Keith Bryant said Mr Page was sacked from the NHS trust not for his views, but for speaking to the media about his beliefs when he was asked not to.
But Andrea Williams from the Christian legal Centre, which has been supporting Mr Page, said: ‘Simply for holding a perfectly lawful view, a view that many people would hold up and down the country, this gentleman finds himself removed from public office. if the tribunal is suggesting that there are places in which an individual does not enjoy the fundamental right to freedom of religious expression, this is a cause for concern and could have a chilling effect on freedom of belief and expression.
‘it is clear that appearing on TV would not, in itself, have led to Mr Page being dismissed. Had he spoken about the weather, or the plight of the near- extinct white rhino, for example, he would not have found himself on the receiving end of the NHS’s wrath.’
She added: ‘ This judgment makes a mockery of the freedom of thought, freedom of speech, and the rule of law. There is no real difference between suppressing dissent and suppressing an expression of dissent. To split hairs in this way makes no sense.’
Mr Page, a married father who was also a foster carer, said he was very disappointed and planned to appeal against the tribunal ruling. He added that the issue was now much bigger than just his own individual case, and argued that ‘ ordinary folk’ like him were becoming increasingly fearful to speak out.
His views first became known when he was reprimanded and then sacked as a magistrate.
Colleagues on the bench reported him for comments he made when considering an application by a same sex couple to adopt a child in 2014.
in private discussions, he rejected a claim in a social worker’s report that homosexual cou-
‘Chilling effect on freedom of belief’ I’ve been ousted for being Christian, says chief who opposed gay adoption Now JP in gay adoption row is axed from NHS job too March 29, 2016
The Mail, August 2, 2017 ples made better adoptive parents than straight couples.
The application was granted as the two other magistrates voted in favour, but Mr Page was sacked for serious misconduct by then- Justice Secretary Michael Gove and lord Chief Justice lord Thomas, who said his comments suggested he was ‘ biased and prejudiced against single sex adopters’.
Mr Page then gave a number of media interviews defending his position, in which he spoke of his belief that it was ‘natural’ and best for a child to be brought up by a mother and father.
The NHS Trust Development Authority suspended him from his role as a non-executive director of Kent and Medway NHS and Social Care Partnership Trust after receiving a complaint from the chair of the trust’s lGBT staff network, in which they said his view was ‘highly offensive’.
Yesterday Conservative MP Andrew Percy said: ‘Whilst i do not agree with what he said as a magistrate, i fail to see how it is relevant to his NHS job.’ He added: ‘it is thought police. it is ridiculous that he could hold those beliefs and sit on the board, but not express them.’
Fellow Tory MP Gary Streeter, a committed Christian, said Mr Page should have been free to air his views. He said: ‘i think as a society we have to be tolerant of people who genuinely hold an alternative view for good reason, whether it is deep personal faith or their own personal experience.
‘i totally understand that some people might be upset by views being expressed but i think we should be more tolerant, more inclusive, of all views including Christian views.’
Dr Peter Saunders, chief executive of the Christian Medical Fellowship, said Mr Page had simply affirmed a ‘widely held conviction which has a good evidence base’.
Mr Page claimed he was barred from public duty for being a good Christian. in a witness statement to the Croydon Employment Tribunal in South london, he said the reason for his rejection of the gay couple’s application was that he did not find the social worker’s argument ‘persuasive’.
in his statement to the tribunal, Mr Page said: ‘i strongly believe it is best for any child to be raised in a traditional family with a mother and a father. The child needs the complementary roles offered by both parents, male and female, psychological as well as physical. Consequently, i take a sceptical view of same- sex adoptions, or adoptions by a single person.’
But the Trust said the expression of his views about family life had ‘undermined’ the confidence of NHS staff, and it was ‘not in the best interests of the health service’ for Mr Page to carry on in his role.
it said Mr Page had also failed to keep the Trust informed about the disciplinary process leading to his removal as a magistrate, and his ‘continued engagement with the media’ even though he had been told to do so. Mr Page said he was responding to media interest in the magistrates’ court case.
But rejecting his claims of religious discrimination, victimisation and harassment, Judge Bryant said his actions were ‘clearly in conflict with the protection of health... and with the rights of others’.
Mr Page, who is also challenging the decision to remove him as a magistrate, could not be reached for further comment last night.