The Home Office has been named by homosexual lobby group Stonewall as Britain’s “Employer of the Year” for lesbian, gay and bisexual people.
Stonewall’s top 100 list also includes the Foreign and Commonwealth Office and local councils including East Sussex, Brighton and Hove and the London Borough of Islington.
Also on Stonewall’s list are 14 police forces, with Hampshire Constabulary ranked highest at number four.
Disciplined
The list comes at a time in which Christians are facing marginalisation by a raft of equality and diversity laws.
In 2009 Brighton and Hove Council restored thousands of pounds of funding it had withdrawn from a care home because of the home’s views on homosexuality.
And Christian registrar Lillian Ladele, who worked for Islington Council, was disciplined for her religious stance on homosexual civil partnerships. A legal case in her defence is now heading to the European Court of Human Rights.
Embedded
Commenting on the Stonewall award Home Secretary Theresa May said she was “delighted”.
And in remarks at the beginning of Stonewall’s report Sir David Normington KCB, the Home Office’s Permanent Secretary, praised the lobby group for “their support and advice as critical friends in driving LGB equality”.
Stonewall said the Home Office “understands the importance of truly embedding equality and diversity into everything it does”.
Diversity
Lloyds Banking Group was placed second in the list while Ernst & Young were third.
Stonewall’s list is compiled by looking at information from employers and staff. The lobby group said 378 organisations had made submissions.
All of the employers in the top 100 are members of Stonewall’s Diversity Champions programme.
Radical
Last year there was criticism in Scotland after the revelation that taxpayer-funded organisations from across the country were partnering with Stonewall in the Diversity Champions scheme.
It was reported that taxpayers were forking out in excess of £50,000 for public bodies to be part of the programme.
John Deighan, from the Roman Catholic Church in Scotland, warned of the radical agenda Stonewall is spreading with the scheme.
He said: “This is a very effective way for Stonewall to spread its ideology, and most people are unaware of just how radical it is.
“These public bodies should be focusing on doing their jobs in a time of economic crisis rather than placating the gay rights lobby.”