Get married to adopt, say Tories

Duncan Smith: Denies homophobia

Tory opposition to same sex couples adopting children is not down to homophobia, party leader Iain Duncan Smith has insisted.

He claims it is because he believes only married couples should adopt.

People who want to adopt children have a very simple choice - they can get married to adopt children

Iain Duncan Smith

Conservatives are expected to support their colleague Robert Walter who has laid down an amendment to be voted on Monday which would specifically exclude gay people from the arrangement.

Under current law, only married couples and single people, including gay people, are allowed to adopt.

Last Thursday, a free vote on an amendment to the Adoption and Children Bill which aimed to lift the ban on adoption by unmarried heterosexual and same sex couples was carried by a majority of 155.

'Emotional problems'

But Mr Duncan Smith told BBC's On the Record: "Whether it is homosexual or heterosexual the point is about children.

"The Tory reform for homosexuals group support this. Why? Because they said the most important thing is the protection of the children not satisfying different lifestyle choices.

"That is what this is about."

A party which shows a lack of toleration on issues such as adoption ...has a long way to go before it can claim to be the mainstream popular party of British politics

Mark Oaten

Mr Duncan Smith said he believed it was wrong for unmarried couples to adopt because statistics showed they were more likely to split up than those who had wed.

"You are dealing here with children who are in severe difficulties," he said.

"They have suffered often emotional problems. They have been in and out of care.

"What you don't want to do is put them in to a home that is very likely to break up and then see them back in care again."

'Simple choice'

Mr Duncan Smith said he was not "condemning anything" and refuted the suggestion that his party was out of step with the 40% of couples who are unmarried.

"Of course, we recognise the way people live their lives," he said.

But, he stressed: "People who want to adopt children have a very simple choice - they can get married to adopt children."

He added: "There is not a huge demand from unmarried people to adopt."

But Liberal Democrat chairman Mark Oaten said: "The Conservative Party is still failing to prove that it has learnt anything from its defeat in 1997.

"A party which shows a lack of toleration on issues such as adoption, and includes people like Andrew Hunter and Ann Winterton within its parliamentary party, has a long way to go before it can claim to be the mainstream popular party of British politics."