The Conservative Party, who suspended King Lawal, a councilman in Northamptonshire, England, in July for tweeting a Biblical truth about pride, has ruled that his tweets were expressions of his “religious beliefs” and not homophobic in nature.
In late June, Lawal, 31, saw a news thread that revealed naked men in the streets, in front of children, during an LGBT Pride event. Lawal, a Bible-believing Christian, tweeted:
“When did Pride become a thing to celebrate. Because of Pride Satan fell as an arch Angel. Pride is not a virtue but a Sin. Those who have Pride should Repent of their sins and return to Jesus Christ. He can save you. #PrideMonth #Pride23 #PrideParade.”
The post included an image with Isaiah 3:9 and added, “Whatever God calls ‘Sin’ is nothing to be Proud of.”
Another local Conservative Party councillor, Anthony Stevens, was arrested at his home in front of his children and investigated for a “hate crime,” for expressing support for Lawal on the social media platform X.
In a council meeting on Oct. 26, Lawal was reinstated to his position on the North Northamptonshire Unitary Council, however, he was not officially notified of being cleared of the homophobic complaint until this week.
In its ruling, the disciplinary subcommittee stated: “The Panel considers that it would be wrong to conflate an objection to the Pride movement as homophobic. The panel recognizes that [Cllr Lawal’s] posts are a representation of his religious beliefs, which he is free and entitled to hold. Accordingly, the posts whilst they may be offensive to some, would on balance not be considered by a reasonable and fair-minded observer to be discriminatory or homophobic per se.”
Responding to the decision, Lawal said: “I appreciate the conclusions of the panel, but I am appalled that I was subjected to this investigation in the first place. For over six months I have had the cloud of this investigation hanging over me, even when the local group reinstated me.
“From the beginning [Conservative Campaign headquarters] or certain individuals there, were pulling the strings and putting immense pressure on the local group to suspend me. Publicly they distanced themselves from any involvement in that suspension while telling me that they were investigating me and that I had to keep that confidential.
“What has happened to me is a microcosm of what is coming under a potential Labour government, and how in many ways significant factions of the Conservative Party have turned their back on their own supporters and values.
“How I have been treated is really troubling for a democratic society. It must ring alarm bells as this can now happen to anyone that is not in support of this extreme LGBT movement.
“The Bible tells us that to live out a true Christian calling you have to pick up your cross and that the world will hate you for standing for Him and truth. I am determined to continue to fight for justice and to clear my name and ensure that this does not happen to another person.
“My ambition for the future is to stand as an MP; this country and the Conservative Party especially, needs more passionate Christian leaders and politicians, not less. It is time that the true voice of the majority of Christians was heard in Parliament.”
Andrea Williams, chief executive of the Christian Legal Centre, said: “The repercussions faced by Cllr Lawal for expressing his Christian beliefs have been unprecedented. What happened demonstrates that Christians who hold public office can no longer express their beliefs without having their careers and lives dismantled.
“[Conservative Campaign headquarters] should have stood by Cllr Lawal and defended his Christian freedoms instead of joining in the attack and mirroring intolerant Labour party activists determined to eradicate Christian beliefs from the public square.
“What has happened to Cllr Lawal, and Cllr Anthony Stevens, has been a stain upon the Conservative and Labour parties, and more must be done to protect Christian MPs and councillors who express standard Christian beliefs on a range of important issues.”
