Lib Dem leader Tim Farron was branded “pretty offensive” today as he again refused to say whether he believed gay sex is a sin.
Farron, who is a committed Christian, repeatedly dodged the question during an appearance on ITV’s Peston on Sunday.
The Lib Dem leader repeated the assertion he made in the House of Commons earlier this week that homosexuality itself is not a sin, but did not answer when asked for his view on gay sex.
Tory MP Michael Gove – also a Christian – said he had no problem saying gay sex is not a sin, while Labour MP Liz Kendall claimed “a lot of people will be appalled” by Farron’s dodging of the question.
“I think that’s pretty offensive and will rightly anger a lot of people,” she added.
Farron’s views on homosexuality came to the fore when he was elected Lib Dem leader in 2015.
Despite initially backing the Same Sex Marriage Bill in Parliament, he abstained on a final vote on the measure in 2013 – claiming the law did not provide enough support for religious ministers who did not want to perform gay weddings.
In the past few weeks, Farron has been quizzed on whether he believes homosexuality is a sin, and today appeared exasperated when Peston tried to clear up his views on gay sex.
Farron said: “I’ve been asked this question loads of times over the past few days and I have been clear, even in the House of Commons, being gay is not a sin.
“If I’m honest with you, it’s possible I’m not the only person getting tired with this line of questioning.”
The Lib Dem leader said he supported a secular society, and “as a committed Christian, I believe that you judge absolutely nobody.”
Vince Cable, the former Lib Dem Business Secretary who is standing for reelection in June, defended his party leader, saying Farron’s voting record is of a “Liberal MP”.
He added: “The problem he has as an individual, and its true of a lot of evangelical Christians and Roman Catholic, is that there religious faith has a certain approach to these problems but they are also public figures who have to represent their constituencies, which are much more diverse.”