Christian Concern asked Eric Pickles to give evidence against his own government department after his April 6 comment that militant atheists should ‘get over’ the fact that Britain is a ‘Christian nation’.
The challenge, live on Radio 4, was given due to Mr Pickles’ government department refusing to allow a Christian Concern colloquium at the QEII Conference Centre in London (a venue run by Mr Pickles’ department) in May 2012.
Andrea Williams, CEO of Christian Concern said: ‘We’ve heard the Prime Minister [and Mr Pickles] defend Britain’s Christian heritage. But if their comments are going to be more than just hollow sound-bites, somebody needs to back up these words with action. Mr Pickles now has that opportunity. He should intervene to stop the centre from pursuing costs against us, and ensure that the centre is open to us in the future’.
Christian Concern had booked the QEII conference centre for a colloquium on the subject of marriage. But at 4pm the day before the colloquium, the QEII Conference Centre cancelled the booking with the Centre’s chief executive saying it was ‘inappropriate’ for such an event to be held at a government venue.
The case is now in the Central London County Court with Christian Concern and Andrea Williams as claimants and Eric Pickles and the QEII Conference Centre as defendants. The department is already estimating costs of £50,000, which they will claim against Christian Concern if they win.
