![]() However, shortly before the case was due to be heard at the High Court, it offered CIT £21,500 to settle the case, although without reinstating the bank accounts. Lawyers claimed Barclays had unlawfully discriminated against the charity, but the bank said it had the right to close anyone’s account and denied any discrimination based on “any religious, philosophical or political belief”. In July, Barclays did indeed shut CIT and its international sister organisation’s accounts down, prompting CIT to sue with support from the Christian Legal Centre. In 2020, LGBT activists had spotted CIT banked with Barclays and, accusing the charity of engaging in conversion therapy, launched a campaign to pressure the bank to close the accounts. There, the Core Issues Trust (CIT) – a Christian charity which provides support and counselling for people with unwanted same-sex attractions – accepted a £21,500 settlement from Barclays after they cancelled its bank accounts three years ago. He argued there was a freedom of speech question at the heart of the row – should a financial institution be allowed to un-bank somebody because of their legal but unpopular views? Believing God was asking him to “dig his heels in and speak up”, he contacted the Free Speech Union and has done a round of press interviews to highlight his concerns.įothergill’s case against YBS emerged just days after a similar story from Northern Ireland. But Fothergill rejected the idea he had been discriminatory or abusive and said he believed the bank had cancelled his account because of his Christian convictions around sexuality and gender. A spokesperson for YBS said they would never close an account due to a customer’s beliefs or feedback, but would if they were “rude, abusive, violent or discriminates in any way, based on the specific facts, comments and behaviour in each case”. “They are a financial house – they are not there to do social engineering,” Fothergill later told The Times. Why don’t you concentrate all your people’s energy on that rather than pushing a particular cultural agenda?” But YBS responded with a letter declaring their relationship with him had “irrevocably broken down” and as such they would close his account within two weeks. ![]() ![]() “Is this really the best use of your time and energy to promote a particular worldview,” his message went, he told Premier Christianity. Noticing a Pride flag in the email, he wrote back questioning YBS’s promotion of a pro-LGBT worldview and laying out his Christian objections to some aspects of transgender ideology. Fothergill says the trouble started after he replied to an email asking for customer feedback. He has had a savings account with Yorkshire Building Society (YBS) for 17 years, but last month had it abruptly closed down. Richard Fothergill is an Anglican minister who founded and leads the Filling Station ministry, a regional network of gatherings for Christians. And all this comes as the government prepares to pass a law banning gay conversion therapy, despite warnings this could criminalise traditional Christian teaching and ministry. A Christian charity in Northern Ireland was given a £20,000 settlement after its accounts were shut down following an online campaign. One vicar had his bank account closed after questioning the bank’s backing of Pride. That’s a question more and more believers are asking after a spate of stories in recent weeks. ![]() God helped me forgive AND seek justiceĪre Christians going to be cancelled from public life? I was abused by a deacon in my church.The ‘hated’ Peter Hitchens on pessimism, divine grace and burning his Bible.Tim Keller (1950-2023): The evangelical statesman was a pastor first.
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