Tim Farron on gay sex: Lib Dem leader says he is 'passionate about LGBT-plus rights'

The Christian leader refused to say if he thought gay sex was a sin

Tim Farron at a rally in north London (Getty)

Liberal Democrat leader Tim Farron has said he “absolutely supports equality” after repeatedly refusing to say whether he believes gay sex is a sin.

Appearing on the BBC’s Andrew Marr Show, the devout Christian said he was “passionate about LGBT-plus rights” and that he is not a “religious leader”.

Mr Farron, elected the party’s new leader this week, said “my firm belief is that we are all sinners” when asked about the issue of gay sex in a Channel 4 News interview.

His response provoked questions about the influence of his religious beliefs on his politics, despite him also saying that Liberal Democrats are “based upon religious tolerance”.

When asked this morning about people’s concerns about his Christianity, the MP for Westmorland and Lonsdale said: “I am not a religious leader. My faith is my own. I’m up-front about it.”

“I’m a liberal and I absolutely support equality, he added.

“I’m passionate about LGBT plus rights, for example. As leader of a liberal party that will be something that will be on the top of my agenda.”

Mr Farron abstained at the third reading of the bill to introduce same-sex marriage and voted against what became the 2010 Equality, which made discriminating against gay people in the workplace illegal.

He told Andrew Marr “I’m absolutely in favour of equal access under the law whatever [a person’s] sexuality”.

Mr Farron said it was not only necessary to defend the law on equal marriage, but to consider areas into which it needed to be extended, including transgender people’s right to marry.