The British Government has again been urged to bring the gay age of consent in Gibraltar in line with that for heterosexual couples.

Last week gay and human rights campaigner Peter Tatchell called on the Foreign & Commonwealth Office to intervene after the Gibraltar Parliament rejected a Private Member’s Bill on the issue.

 

Last weekend, that message was picked up in the southwest region of England – which has links to Gibraltar on EU issues – by the Green Party.

“The Government of Gibraltar is required by European Court of Human Rights rulings to equalise the age of consent for same-sex relationships,” said Ryan Cleminson, coordinator of the southwest Greens’ Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender Group.

“I urge David Miliband, the Foreign Secretary, to intervene and let Gibraltar’s Chief Minister, Peter Caruana, know that Gibraltar cannot be allowed to evade its human rights obligations.”

Britain has, in fact, repeatedly made it clear to Gibraltar that it wants the age of consent for gay and heterosexual couples to be equal.

“The Government of Gibraltar is aware of Her Majesty’s Government’s views on the age of consent and we have discussed the issues involved on a number of occasions,” an F&CO spokesman said yesterday.

During a parliamentary debate last week, Mr Caruana - who is against the lowering of the age of consent for homosexuals on religious grounds - argued that Gibraltar’s legal and constitutional obligations on this issue had not yet been tested and it was a matter for a court of competent jurisdiction to decide.