A blow for equal rights

• AS a strong supporter of equal rights, I am delighted that Islington Council’s insistence that all registrars must carry out civil partnership ceremonies for gay and lesbian couples has been upheld by the High Court.
This contrasts with Labour’s betrayal of the gay and lesbian community by failing to deliver protection from discrimination at work in accordance with European law. This government has given faith bodies such as church schools wide latitude to discriminate against gay employees, using religious doctrine hostile to homosexuality as a pretext. Active in campaigning on equality for two decades, first as councillor for Clerkenwell and then as a Euro-MP, I welcome the European Commission’s decision to bring the UK into line with European human rights law.
BARONESS SARAH LUDFORD
Liberal Democrat MEP for London