Christian Bakers who refused to make gay activist a 'Support Gay Marriage' cake are 'relieved and happy' after European Court THREW OUT DISCRIMINATION CASE

 

EXCLUSIVE: Christian bakers who refused to make gay activist a 'Support Gay Marriage' cake are 'relieved and happy' after European court threw out discrimination case as Equality Commission is slammed for spending £250k of taxpayer money

• EXCLUSIVE: a family friend of the bakery has told MailOnline about the ordeal
• Simon Calvert of The Christian Institute said the bakers are 'happy and relieved'
• Gareth Lee ordered a £36.50 cake iced with 'Support Gay Marriage' in 2014
• Owners of Ashers bakery in Belfast objected to the message on the cake
• Supreme Court found that Me Lee had not been discriminated against
• And the ECHR has today ruled the long-running case 'inadmissible' 
• Equality Commission of Northern Ireland spent £251,000 backing Mr Lee 
  
  
   A close family friend of two Christian bakers who were embroiled in a discrimination case after they refused to bake a 'support gay marriage' cake has said the couple are 'relieved and happy' that the seven-year 'ordeal' is over.

  Simon Calvert, Deputy Director for Public Affairs at The Christian Institute and friend of bakers Daniel and Amy McArthur, exclusively told the MailOnline: 'They're happy at the result, relieved and happy for us to deal with the media on their behalf.

  'The European Court has made clear that this decision on inadmissibility [of the case] is the final ruling, so that's the end of the road. 'The family have had this hanging over them for [close to eight] years but throughout that time they have always publicly and privately held very closely to their Christian faith and they've taken comfort in that.

  'They're private people, this hasn't been easy for them as you can imagine, but they knew that they hadn't done anything wrong.

  'They knew that they hadn't done anything unlawful and they were vindicated by the UK Supreme Court and they've been vindicated again today by the ruling from Strasbourg.'

  The Northern Ireland Equality Commission faces 'serious questions' after it spent £251,000 of public money backing a gay activist who brought legal action against Christian bakers, the region's First Minister said - as he claimed the case 'should never have been brought to court in the first place'.The high-profile controversy began when Gareth Lee, a member of the LGBT advocacy group QueerSpace, ordered a £36.50 cake from the Ashers bakery in Belfast, run by Daniel and Amy McArthur, in May 2014.

  The couple refused to fulfil the order because they disagreed with the slogan - 'Support Gay Marriage' - which was supposed to be drawn in icing on the dessert item, which also featured Sesame Street puppets Bert and Ernie. 

  This sparked a seven-year-old legal battle which cost The Equality Commission of Northern Ireland £251,000 of public money backing Mr Lee, while the Christian Institute covered £250,000 of legal costs for Ashers Baking Company, which takes its name from an Old Testament figure. 

  But in what appears to be a finishing blow for Mr Lee's case, the European court in Strasbourg threw out his complaint today, ruling that he should have brought up the alleged violation of the human rights convention in British courts - which he failed to do. 

  Northern Ireland's First Minister Paul Givan said the case raises 'serious questions' for Northern Ireland's Equality Commission, which backed Gareth Lee in his court actions.

  Mr Givan said: 'I am glad the European Court of Human Rights has ruled this to be inadmissible. It validates the decision of the UK Supreme Court, which was to say that this never should have been brought to court in the first place.' 

  Phoenix Law, who represented Mr Lee, acted on a pro-bono basis for the European court case, meaning they did not charge him legal fees because of 'the significance and public interest level', his lawyer Ciaran Moynagh told MailOnline, adding: 'And therefore there was no cost to the taxpayer [for the ECHR case].'

  He also said that, while Mr Lee may not be able to re-hash his own case in British courts, if a similar incident were to arise he and his legal team would offer their support. 

  'Instead of going to a county court on a goods, facilities, services and premises basis, it would be straight to the High Court on a human rights challenge because the legislation needs testing,' he added.   

  The ECHR deals with cases free of charge, but claimants will still typically have to bear their own costs such as lawyers' fees - unless advocates take the case pro-bono - or research expenses.  

  +7

  Daniel McArthur and his wife Amy, the owners of Ashers bakery, pictured in 2018. Simon Calvert, Deputy Director for Public Affairs at The Christian Institute and friend of the McArthurs, exclusively told the MailOnline: 'They're happy and relieved at the result. They knew they hadn't done anything wrong.'

• FULL ARTICLE AT DAILY MAIL ON: https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-10376241/EU-court-throws-case-against-Christian-bakers-refused-make-support-gay-marriage-cake.html