Court Blocks Appeal of ‘Banned Bus Ad’ Case
“The case has shown clearly that British officialdom has no regard for the rights of ordinary men and women whose identity is “ex-gay” and whose practice is to leave their homosexual past.
We will not be intimidated or silenced. We shall continue to exercise our right freely to say that homosexual practices are unsafe for individuals, for society, and offensive to our creator God, the Lord Jesus Christ. We will continue to teach these truths and to support the continual and growing stream of individuals now abandoned by church, state and mental health bodies who express through their lives an unpopular and offensive view clearly intolerant to the British establishment.”
Reported by Christian Legal Centre, June 10th 2015 (adapted)
Sitting in the Court of Appeal, Lord Justice Sullivan on June 10th 2015, refused permission to appeal the ‘Banned London Bus Ad’ case.
Core Issues Trust, brought the case after the advert that it sought to place on London buses in 2012 was banned at the last minute following the intervention of Transport for London and London Mayor Boris Johnson.
The High Court first ruled on the case in 2013 but in 2014 was instructed to re-examine aspects of it by the Court of Appeal.
In July 2014, the High Court again ruled on the case, finding that London Mayor Boris Johnson had not acted unlawfully despite evidence showing that he had been untruthful in his public statements.
Core Issues Trust has highlighted numerous problems including the failure to allow cross-examination of crucial witnesses, significant inconsistencies in witness statements, the failure of the Mayor’s Office to preserve important email records and a reading of the evidence that denied the simple, plain meaning of the words on the page.
Nonetheless, Lord Justice Sullivan said yesterday that he was satisfied with the High Court inquiry and refused permission to appeal the judgment.
He concluded that Boris Johnson had been untruthful when he claimed credit in the media for banning the Bus Ad but maintained that the Mayor had not acted unlawfully.
Core Issues Trust now faces a demand to pay £100,000 in costs to Transport for London and is considering its next steps.
The charity took legal action because of the challenge to freedom of expression, especially of those who experience same-sex attraction but choose to leave a homosexual lifestyle or not to embrace a homosexual identity.
