Leadership signals it may agree to repeal of Section 28

The Tory leadership gave its strongest signal yet that it was prepared to compromise over the repeal of Section 28, which bans the promotion of homosexuality by local authorities.

Under William Hague, the party strongly supported the controversial provision – to the consternation of its socially liberal wing – and Tory peers blocked government moves to remove it from the statute books.

Before he became leader Iain Duncan Smith said he was prepared to look again at the issue, but had since refused to be drawn on his conclusions.

However, in an apparent olive branch to the gay community yesterday, he signalled that he could agree to the abolition of Section 28, as long as children continued to be adequately protected. He told BBC1's Breakfast with Frost: "Section 28 is – at principle, at heart – about protecting children against those who might be placed in authority over them.

"Every parent who has a child wants to see their children protected. The question for us is simply how best to do that. We will be bringing forward proposals to do that."

The message was underlined later by the shadow Chancellor Michael Howard, who as a junior environment minister was responsible for pushing Section 28 through Parliament in 1988. "Section 28 is now seen by the homosexual community as stigmatising them and as a kind of totem. We are not a party that is anti-homosexual and I recognise that if a group in society sees something as a totem, you have got to look at it again," he said.

Labour is expected to bring forward a Bill abolishing Section 28 next month.