The government is facing a fresh push to ban "conversion therapy" aimed at changing gay people's sexuality. The Church of England has been calling for the highly controversial practice to be outlawed, after its ruling body voted for a ban last year.

Ministers condemned the "therapy" but have refused to meet Church campaigners to discuss the issue. Now, Tory MP and church commissioner Caroline Spelman has vowed to set up a meeting with the minister in charge.

Labour MP Ben Bradshaw raised the issue in the House of Commons, telling MPs: "This so-called therapy does dreadful, dreadful damage to young people's emotional and psychological health and it is long overdue to be banned."

'Stamp out homophobia'

Ms Spelman, the Second Church Estates Commissioner, who provides a link between the Church of England and the Commons, said: "I am not responsible for the decisions of the government. "But the general synod did vote clearly to ban gay conversion therapy absolutely unequivocally."

She said the government had last year made it clear to campaigners in a letter that it was "strongly against" the practice but did not want to legislate against it because "existing voluntary registers provide safeguards for the public". Read more via BBC