Prayers ban bid thrown out by parish council

An attempt to ban prayers at meetings of a Staffordshire parish council has been thrown out after a debate.

Three members of Penkridge Parish Council voted for the practice of saying prayers before full council meetings to be stopped.

But they were defeated by a counter-motion to simply remove them from the agenda. The debate took place at a meeting last night after a ruling issued by the High Court declaring the practice was lawful only "provided councillors are not formally summoned to attend".

Prayers will now be said before the official business of the meetings, and councillors who do not want to take part can leave the room if they wish.

Councillor Sandra Chambers, who put forward the motion to ban prayers altogether, told the meeting: "This is a very sensitive issue. We all approach this in different ways.

"I heard councillors be disrespectful to other councillors who chose to leave the room during prayers, and I don't like that. People's beliefs should not be open to speculation, and it does put councillors on the spot.

"I believe that everyone who lives in Penkridge should feel represented.

"Our practices should not create division of any kind."

Councillor John McPheat said: "It seems to me that if councillors wish to hold prayers, they should be held before the meeting starts. I would have thought we should have them prior to the agenda being taken up.

"I stand because I respect the opinion of those who want prayers but I don't take part, and I choose not to involve myself."

A 69-year-old Penkridge resident, who asked not to be named, urged councillors to keep the prayers before the discussion started.

He told them: "It's important to have a religious context in our council dealings. Having it in schools does not make us a nation of religious nutters."

The spotlight is on the practice of holding prayers before council meetings after a test case bid to outlaw it as part of council business was won last month by the National Secular Society and an atheist councillor.