Sir Keir Starmer has apologised after visiting a church [1] which has been criticised for its traditional teachings on marriage and family, while another Labour MP has praised the very same congregation [2].
The church’s senior pastor, Agu Irukwu, has in the past spoken out against same sex marriage and aspects of equality legislation. LGBT+ groups claim it promotes “conversion therapy”, a charge the church denies.
The Labour leader visited Jesus House in London on Good Friday to see its vaccination centre, posting a video on his Twitter feed praising it as a ‘wonderful example of a church’ for its work with the community.
In 2017, Theresa May visited the church, while more recently Boris Johnson and the Prince of Wales have both been to the pop-up vaccination centre there.
But after a backlash including from his party’s LGBT+ members, Sir Keir called it a mistake and deleted the clip.
He said he “completely” disagreed with the church’s views on LGBT+ rights and was not aware of them beforehand.
“I apologise for the hurt my visit caused and have taken down the video,” he said. “It was a mistake and I accept that.”
In a twist, and following his Party Leader’s apology, Stephen Timms, the Labour MP for East Ham tweeted: “I applaud the extraordinary work of @jesushouseuk, and of churches and other faith groups, in supporting our communities throughout the past year.”
After criticism from LGBT groups, he responded with: “Given the attention this afternoon, I have checked with Jesus House. They tell me they don’t practise anything like conversion therapy, and regard homophobia as anti-Christian.”