Tim Farron: I regret saying gay sex is not a sin Tim Farron has admitted he feels “regret” over saying gay sex is not a sin during the general election campaign. […]

Tim Farron has admitted he feels “regret” over saying gay sex is not a sin during the general election campaign.

The Westmorland and Lonsdale MP, who was the leader of the Liberal Democrats until July of last year, told a Christian radio station that he had been “pressured” – and had given an answer that was “not right”.

Farron, an evangelical Christian, faced intense pressure during the election to clarify his beliefs on subjects such as gay marriage and abortion.

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After refusing to answer directly four times on Channel 4 news, in the House of Commons he later answered a question on whether he believed gay sex was sinful by saying: “I do not.”

But Farron said he did not give the “right” answer in his latest interview on his faith and political life.

Foolish and wrong

On Premier, a Christian-focused radio station, Farron said: “The bottom line is, of course, I did [feel pressured] and there are things – including that – that I said that I regret.

“All they wanted to do is talk about my Christian beliefs and what they actually meant.

“Foolishly and wrongly, [I] attempted to push it away by giving an answer that, frankly, was not right.”

Farron also highlighted the team at the Lib Dems as one reason why he wound up expressing an opinion he did not believe to be true.

“I had a wonderful team around me at HQ but with one exception, there were no Christians; it was not their fault they didn’t understand the issue.”

Against the grain

He has spoken since his resignation as party leader of the difficulties of being an evangelical in politics.

“Now, being harangued by journalists or slagged off by political opponents for my faith hardly compares with the struggles of being a Christian in North Korea, where you have a one in four chance of being imprisoned for your faith,” he wrote in an article for i.

“But the point is that Christian faith will go against the grain, if you aren’t struggling at least a bit against the expectations and assumptions of the world- then well, you should be!”