This article is from the source 'guardian' and was first published or seen on . It last changed over 40 days ago and won't be checked again for changes.

You can find the current article at its original source at http://www.theguardian.com/society/2014/jan/19/ukip-councillor-gay-people-spiritual-disease-pray-healed-david-silvester

The article has changed 3 times. There is an RSS feed of changes available.

Version 1 Version 2
Ukip suspends councillor who claimed floods were caused by gay marriage Ukip suspends councillor who claimed floods were caused by gay marriage
(about 4 hours later)
A Ukip councillor who blamed the Christmas and new year floods on the passing of gay marriage laws has been suspended from the party, a spokesman has said. A Ukip councillor who blamed the Christmas and new year floods on the passage of gay marriage laws has been suspended from the party, Ukip said on Sunday, reversing an earlier view that he was entitled to his opinion.
Henley-on-Thames councillor David Silvester, who defected from the Tories in protest at David Cameron's support for same-sex unions, said he had warned the prime minister of "repercussions" if gay marriage went ahead.Henley-on-Thames councillor David Silvester, who defected from the Tories in protest at David Cameron's support for same-sex unions, said he had warned the prime minister of "repercussions" if gay marriage went ahead.
He was suspended by the party after defying a request not to do further interviews on his beliefs following his initial claims made in a letter to a local newspaper. The move came as leader Nigel Farage launched a clearout of "extremist, nasty or barmy" views from the party ahead of polls in May. He was suspended by Ukip after defying a request not to do further interviews on his beliefs following his initial claims made in a letter to a local newspaper. The move came as leader Nigel Farage launched a clearout of "extremist, nasty or barmy" views from the party ahead of polls in May.
On Sunday he caused fresh controversy telling BBC Radio Berkshire that being gay was a "spiritual disease" that can be healed. On Sunday Silvester caused fresh controversy, telling BBC Radio Berkshire that being gay was a "spiritual disease" that can be healed. His remarks led Ukip's official gay and lesbian group to send Silvester a letter saying he had "rightly attracted derision from people of all political beliefs, and once again painted Ukip in a negative light – an unacceptable act for which you cannot be excused".
He said the new law, paving the way for the first gay marriages in Britain this spring, was the latest mistake that would anger God – following on from abortion laws, which he likened to the Holocaust. Tory business minister Michael Fallon said the comments showed "there clearly are one or two fruitcakes still around there" – a reference to David Cameron's previous criticisms of Ukip.
In the radio interview, which followed his initial claims about the link between flooding and gay marriage in a letter to the Henley Standard, Silvester said: "I don't have a problem with gay people. Silvester said the new law, paving the way for the first gay marriages in Britain this spring, was the latest mistake that would anger God – following on from abortion laws, which he likened to the Holocaust.
"I believe as a Christian I should love gay people and indeed, I do. My prayer for them is they will be healed. In the radio interview, which followed his initial claims about the link between flooding and gay marriage in a letter to the Henley Standard, Silvester said: "I don't have a problem with gay people. "I believe as a Christian I should love gay people and indeed, I do.
"When I was at Bible college I did a thesis on homosexuality and I came across the writings of an American psychiatrist, Jeffrey Satinover. He came up with two particular beliefs; one, he said it has not been proven at all that the gay condition comes from the genes, and second he said that by the Holy Spirit, there is always power for a gay person to be healed. "My prayer for them is they will be healed. It is nonsense to say it is homophobic. If you love a person enough to want them to be healed and to have a proper family, that is hardly homophobic. It is a spiritual disease … it's not what I say, it's what the Bible says."
"I believe that is what the Apostle Paul said in the New Testament; he said some of you are gay but you have been healed. There is healing for the gay condition and I believe a Christian should long for gay people to be healed and to have normal heterosexual lives. Silvester added: "I am a man who prays every day for every member of the cabinet and for every member of the royal family and when, two years ago, I wrote to the prime minister to warn him there are repercussions for serious breaches of the coronation oath, such as this one has been, when I saw what followed I naturally assumed this was the result of them going against God's laws.
"It is nonsense to say it is homophobic. If you love a person enough to want them to be healed and to have a proper family, that is hardly homophobic. "This is not new, this happened in the Old Testament – they were warned if they turned against God there would be pestilence, there would be war, there would be disasters."
"It is a spiritual disease … it's not what I say, it's what the Bible says." The open letter from Ukip's LGBT group said: "The Met Office have stated 'the main reason for the mild and wet weather so far is that we have seen a predominance of west and south-west winds, bringing in mild air from the Atlantic – as well as generally unsettled conditions' – regardless of whether you believe in a God or not, sudden rainfall has not just formulated out of nowhere upon the UK. An Act of God this is not."
Silvester said he was convinced that there were "repercussions for a nation persisting in what is wrong", and that he had clear beliefs "there are things that are right and wrong".
"Over the years we have done many things that have caused problems," he said.
"One, for example, is the abortion law in which something like six million children, as many as the people killed by the Nazis in the death camps, have been killed as a result of the abortion laws.
"Now, this is a process. The latest in this process is these homosexual laws and the homosexual marriage."
Expanding on his views about the repercussions of the state, Silvester added: "I am a man who prays every day for every member of the cabinet and for every member of the royal family and when, two years ago, I wrote to the prime minister to warn him there are repercussions for serious breaches of the Coronation Oath, such as this one has been, when I saw what followed I naturally assumed this was the result of them going against God's laws.
"This is not new, this happened in the Old Testament – they were warned if they turned against God there would be pestilence, there would be war, there would be disasters.
"All I'm doing is following the pattern that the Old Testament set out for a nation that followed God. If they followed God, things would go well, if they rebelled against God, then there would be repercussions."
The councillor said Ukip, to whom he defected from the Conservative party, had told him not to give any more interviews.
He said: "I had a phone call yesterday from one of them and the instructions I have got from now on is not to answer anybody and not to do interviews such as this one... [this] is the last one.
"I'm not going to go into [their reasons]. That's a private discussion between me and them."