Gay adoption row: Kelly puts faith in Catholic opt-out

Ruth Kelly is mounting a desperate last-ditch effort to allow Catholic adoption agencies to turn away gay couples for years to come.

Ms Kelly was defeated in a cabinet revolt last week after The Independent on Sunday revealed her efforts to hand Catholic agencies an opt-out from new anti-discrimination laws.

Tony Blair withdrew his support for the exemption on Wednesday in the face of determined opposition from backbenchers and senior ministers.

But Ms Kelly is trying to save face by pushing for a three-year "transition period" during which Catholic adoption and fostering agencies could still refuse applications from prospective adoptive parents who are gay.

Catholic bishops say church-run adoption services will close because staff would be unable to reconcile their faith and the new laws. A lengthy period is needed to ensure that agencies can continue to provide support for completed adoptions, claim Ms Kelly's aides. However, campaigners suspect that the delay is intended to push the implementation date beyond the next election, ensuring that it remains a live political issue.

And they also believe that no more than two of the seven adoption agencies run by the Catholic church will close as a result of the introduction of the Sexual Orientation Regulations.

Alan Johnson, who as Secretary of State for Education is responsible for adoption and is Ms Kelly's main opponent on the issue, believes that the agencies need just six months to prepare to accept applications from gay and lesbian couples or close.

Chris Bryant, the Labour MP for Rhondda who helped to defeat Ms Kelly last week, said: "The last thing we want is for this to go on and on. The adoption agencies themselves need certainty, not a protracted process that could take years. We should get on with this in short order."

A spokeswoman said the Secretary of State for Communities would issue her proposals this week but that "no final decisions have been taken".

Ms Kelly, meanwhile, was dealt another blow last week after Labour chiefs ruled that she must stay and fight her existing seat of Bolton West, where she has a majority of 2,064. The seat has become more marginal because of boundary changes and there had been speculation that Ms Kelly would seek to move to Bolton South-East, whose current Labour MP is retiring.

An internal party committee ruled that there should be an open selection for the seat last week, however. In a final and unwelcome irony for Ms Kelly, Mr Blair's speechwriter, Phil Collins, is a front-runner to win the safer seat.