The leader of the Liberal Democrats, Tim Farron, has once again found himself in the middle of controversy over his views on same-sex relationships.
Here’s everything you need to know:
What happened?
The Christian Lib Dem leader didn’t give a straight answer when asked by Cathy Newman of Channel 4 News if he thinks homosexuality is a sin.
During the interview, he told Newman he was “not in the position to make theological announcements over the next six weeks”.
Hasn’t this come up before?
For fourth time @timfarron struggled to give me a clear answer on if it's true he believes homosexuality is sinful #C4News #GeneralElection
— Cathy Newman (@cathynewman) April 18, 2017
Yes. Newman challenged him three times about the same thing back in 2015, the day after he was made leader of the party, but he failed to answer whether or not he thought it was a sin.He chose to respond then by saying “we’re all sinners”.Newman reminded him of this in the recent interview and asked whether that was still his stance, to which he responded by talking about his strive for equality.He said: “As a Liberal, I’m passionate about equality, about equal marriage and about equal rights for LGBT people, for fighting for LGBT rights, not just in this country but overseas.”Hasn’t he been supportive of gay rights though?
Farron has made it clear he supports equal marriage and LGBT rights, voting mostly for equal gay rights and almost always voting for same-sex marriage with the exception of one absence.How have people reacted?With anger.
Tim Farron on C4 news failing to clarify his views on the gay community. 'We're all sinners'.
It's 2017.
— Sue Perkins (@sueperkins) April 18, 2017
This is an absolute disgrace. But hey, I'm just some sinning gay, what would I know. https://t.co/nzu1PU7YLB
— Owen Jones (@OwenJones84) April 18, 2017
From celebrities to political commentators, people have slammed Farron for dodging the question yet again.
This latest round of questioning comes after Prime Minister Theresa May announced plans to call a snap general election on June 8.