Anti-gay petition challenged

A letter from the Catholic Education Service asking its schools to urge their pupils to sign a petition against gay marriage faces a legal challenge.

The British Humanist Association is seeking to bring a test case claiming the letter is a breach of the 2010 Equality Act which prohibits discrimination on grounds of sexual orientation.

It also argues that it breaches the 1996 Education Act, which forbids "the promotion of partisan political views in the teaching of any subject".

The CES said faith schools had the right to teach their pupils about sex and relationships.