A Christian registrar at the centre of a landmark religious belief discrimination case has lost her appeal.

As reported earlier in this blog, Lillian Ladele, who had been a registrar since 2002, claimed that she had been discriminated against by being disciplined after refusing to conduct same-sex civil partnerships “as a matter of religious conscience”.

She alleged that she had been ridiculed and bullied by colleagues as a result of her decision, and claimed that her employers - Islington Council in north London - had discriminated against her and harassed her.

In the original tribunal it was found that she had been unlawfully discriminated against, but this judgement was subsequently overturned by the Employment Appeal Tribunal, which concluded that there was no basis for concluding that any “discrimination had been established”.

During the hearing, James Dingemans QC, speaking as Ms Ladele’s counsel, explained that Ms Ladele had never sought to undermine the human rights or respect due to members of the lesbian, gay, bisexual or transgender communities. However, he stressed that human rights laws must also protect individuals with strongly held views regarding marriage.

In dismissing her case, Lord Neuberger stated: “it appears to me that, however much sympathy one may have with someone such as Ms Ladele, who is faced with choosing between giving up a post she plainly appreciates or officiating at events which she considers to be contrary to her religious beliefs, the legislature has decided that the requirements of a modern liberal democracy, such as the United Kingdom, include outlawing discrimination in the provision of goods, facilities and services on grounds of sexual orientation, subject only to very limited exceptions.”

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