Lillian Ladele: 'My spirit was crushed and I broke down in tears'

A registrar was threatened with the sack for refusing to preside over homosexual marriages, a tribunal heard yesterday.

Lillian Ladele, 47, claims council bosses bullied her after she told them of her religious objections to same-sex civil partnerships.

In a landmark legal action, she is suing Islington Council in North London for discrimination and victimisation on grounds of her Christianity.

The case could determine whether employees can be required to act against their consciences.

Until last December, the country's 1,700 registrars of births, marriages and deaths were permitted to opt out of civil partnership ceremonies.

But their employment status changed with the introduction of the Statistics and Registration Act. Now designated as local government workers, they must carry out town hall orders.

She told the hearing in central London that colleagues denied her rights as a Christian and grew increasingly 'hostile' towards her over her refusal to marry couples of the same sex.

Miss Ladele, who earns £31,000 a year, began legal proceedings last November  -  two days before the act came into force.

She told the hearing in Central London that bosses had denied her her rights as a Christian and became increasingly hostile toward her.

"I hold the orthodox Christian view that marriage is the union of one man and one woman for life to the exclusion of all others and that this is the God-ordained place for sexual relations,'"she said.

"A civil partnership is marriage in all but name.

"Regardless of my feelings for the participants, I feel unable to directly facilitate the formation of a union that I sincerely believe is contrary to God's law.

"My beliefs do not mean I wish people who are homosexual to receive detrimental treatment. The council knows that if I am required to choose between my conscience and their desire that all registrars must undertake civil partnership duties, then I will have to honour my faith and face unemployment."

Miss Ladele said her pay was slashed by bosses who ignored her concerns.

She was forced to swop shifts with colleagues to avoiding officiating at same-sex ceremonies.

Her line manager and superintendent registrar, Helen Mendez-Childs, then allegedly banned her from performing marriage ceremonies altogether.

Miss Ladele said: "Helen said this was a punishment for not doing civil partnerships and that now I will know how others feel. I said, 'What about my rights as a Christian?'.

"Helen was angry and said, 'What rights?' My spirit was crushed and I broke down in tears."

Miss Mendez-Childs is said to have told her that refusing to officiate in civil partnerships was "similar to refusing to conduct a wedding for black people".

The hearing was told that another boss, Dion Goncalves, a deputy superintendent registrar, humiliated Miss Ladele in public and accused her of being homophobic.

Miss Ladele told the hearing: 'I felt harassed and victimised. I felt I was being picked on and bullied on a daily basis and that there was no respect whatsoever for my religious beliefs.

"But I continually tried to forgive them for the hurt they caused me because of the love I have for them as a Christian."

Miss Ladele, from Islington, is having her legal fees paid by the Christian Institute.

The tribunal continues.