Same-sex marriages should take place in Churches, senior aides to David Cameron said yesterday, despite repeated Government pledges that religious groups would be exempt.
Desmond Swayne, Mr Cameron’s parliamentary aide, said that those churches which want to marry gay couples should be free to do so.
Meanwhile Crispin Blunt, the prisons minister, said that the current plans for a blanket ban on religious groups from carrying out gay marriages could prove “problematic legally”.
He added the promised exemption for religious groups may not survive even the initial Parliamentary process.
And the Home Office confirmed that it was “listening to” some religious groups who have said that they would like to carry out same-sex weddings.
The admissions appear to represent a step back from the previous Government assurance that any bill to introduce gay marriage would specifically exclude religious groups to protect those who object on grounds of conscience
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