Tuesday, November 17, 2009

Christmas could be killed off by Harman's Equality Bill, bishops warn

Mail Online
By Kirsty Walker

Harriet Harman's Equality Bill strengthens protection for minority groups by placing new equality duty on public bodies

Christmas celebrations could be banned under Harriet Harman's controversial Equality Bill, Catholic bishops warned yesterday.

The bishops said they feared that the complex legislation could have the 'chilling effect' of town halls and other organisations clamping down on Christian festivities.

Monsignor Andrew Summersgill, the general secretary of the Catholic Bishops' Conference, has written to MPs expressing his concerns about the new legislation.

His submission warns that the Equality Bill will fuel Britain's 'risk averse' culture.

The bishops pointed to bizarre decisions made in recent years to ban Christmas decorations for fear of offending other cultures.

Oxford city council last year provoked outrage by renaming the city's Christmas festival as the 'Winter Light Festival' to make it more inclusive.

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