Blair pledge to resolve gay adoption row

The Government will bring forward proposals to resolve the dispute over adoption by gay couples next week, Prime Minister Tony Blair said today.

Reports today suggested that Mr Blair had "caved in" to Cabinet colleagues who do not want to see any exemption for Catholic adoption agencies from new regulations which will require them to offer babies to same-sex couples.

But in a statement released by 10 Downing Street today, Mr Blair said the issue remains to be resolved.

He said he will work to find a solution that ends discrimination against gays and also ensures the protection of vulnerable children receiving help with adoption and after-care from Catholic agencies.

Mr Blair said: "There is one last aspect within the new regulations to resolve and it concerns adoption.

"I have always personally been in favour of the right of gay couples to adopt.

"Our priority will always be the welfare of the child."

He added: "Both gay couples and the Catholic agencies have a high level of success in adopting hard-to-place children. It is for that reason we have taken time to ensure we get these regulations right.

"How do we protect the principle of ending discrimination against gay people and at the same time protect those vulnerable children who at the present time are being placed through, and after-care provided by, Catholic agencies, who everyone accepts do a great job with some of the most disturbed youngsters.

"We will announce a decision next week and then vote, probably next month.

"I am committed to finding a way through this sensitive and difficult decision."

The new regulations introduced by last year's Equality Act are due to come into force on April 6 and will make it illegal to discriminate against gay people in the provision of goods and services. They must be approved by both Houses of Parliament before coming into force.

The leader of Roman Catholics in England and Wales Cardinal Cormac Murphy-O'Connor - backed by his Scottish bishops and Church of England leaders - has called for Catholic adoption agencies to be granted an exemption.

He was accused of blackmail after warning that the agencies, which handle around a third of voluntary sector adoptions, could be forced to close because they would refuse to hand over babies to homosexual couples.

Mr Blair and community Secretary Ruth Kelly were reported to back the exemption but have faced public resistance to it from cabinet colleagues including Lord Falconer, Peter Hain and Alan Johnson.

Unconfirmed reports suggested last night that the opponents of a Catholic exemption had secured agreement from Mr Blair that the church agencies would instead be offered a limited transition period before being required to comply with the anti-discrimination law. Mr Blair's official spokesman this morning declined to say whether such a compromise had been reached.

The issue was not discussed at Cabinet this morning, he added.

The spokesman said that a key issue in discussions was the aftercare provided by Catholic agencies to adoptive parents to help them deal with the demands of raising disabled or disturbed children.

That care did not cease after a matter of weeks but continued for some time, and the Prime Minister was eager to ensure that it was not suddenly cut off by any change in the law, explained the spokesman.

"When you are dealing with hard-case kids, you do need to ensure that the aftercare continues," he said. "There is a body of expertise which has been built up which the Prime Minister is very, very keen not to see dissipated."

The spokesman declined to comment on whether the PM had "caved in" to opponents within the cabinet.

He added: "He hopes that we achieve consensus which achieves the two objectives we have set out - that we get an end to discrimination and that these children get the help they need."