Intolerance

I have just heard the news that Adrian Smith, a housing manager with Trafford Housing Trust, near Manchester, who was demoted and had his salary slashed by 40 per cent for “gross misconduct” has won his case before the High Court against his employers.

His alleged crime was that he wrote on his personal file, not visible to the general public, when he was not at work that “gay weddings in churches would be equality too far”. The management, who had refused to budge from its position, now claims pressure was exerted on it for its stand.

On TV, I heard a spokesman for Stonewall, which promotes gay rights, say that while he disagrees with what Smith had written, he does not think that he should have been punished to that extent.

How generous of him. What sort of punishment does he consider appropriate?

The same question might be put to the Liberals and Socialists in the European Parliament vis-à-vis Tonio Borg.