Barclays Bank: Judge rejects claims in ex-gay discrimination case by Mike Davidson of Core Issues Trust

Core Issues Trust (CIT), who are being supported by the Christian Legal Centre, was notified in July 2020 that its banking facilities with Barclays would be stopped.

CIT claims this was as a result of a lobbying campaign by LGBT activists, noting that the bank has been formally lauded by LGBT charity Stonewall as one of the best performing employers for LGBT employees across the UK.

CIT is a non-profit Christian organisation led by Ballynahinch man Dr Mike Davidson, who describes himself as ex-gay. It supports men and women who voluntarily seek change in their sexual preference, expression and/or gender identity.

Since the incident, however, Barclays refused to apologise, reinstate the account or even give a reason for closing the bank account.Barclays argue that they can terminate any bank account by giving two months’ notice without explanation and have claimed there is no evidence that it has discriminated against Dr Davidson or CIT.At the hearing in Belfast County Court on 9 November, Barclays' lawyers challenged Dr Davidson’s case by suggesting that a Belfast court does not have jurisdiction to hear the case.

However after hearing legal arguments from both sides, Judge Alistair Devlin rejected their application and decided the CIT case would proceed to a full hearing in Belfast next month.

Speaking afterwards the decision, Dr Davidson, said: “How absurd that mega-bank Barclays International contested Belfast as the correct jurisdiction at which to hear the case we brought against its actions. Core Issues Trust is a registered charity in Northern Ireland. County Down is where our business accounts were opened with Barclays."

He said the charity is now "looking forward" to the full hearings of the case, next month.

Judge Devlin started off the hearing by saying that it was Barclay's application that the case was brought in the wrong jurisdiction and should properly be brought into England and Wales.

He said CIT was seeking a court judgement and damages for breach of the Unfair Employment and Treatment (Northern Ireland) Order 1998, claiming that Barclays discriminated against it on the grounds of religious belief and/or political opinion.

Barclays denies any discrimination or causing any harm to CIT, so argued the case should be heard in England and Wales, which is where Barclays' main administrative structure is based.

However Judge Devlin said CIT was always a local company in Northern Ireland so this placed any damages sustained in Northern Ireland.

He dismissed the Barclays application in its entirety and said that costs would follow. The next hearing is on Wednesday 7 December in Belfast County Court.

Barclays declined to offer any comment on the matter.

In 2013 CIT lost a High Court case against then Mayor of London Boris Johnson, who banned a controversial London bus advertisement about homosexuality backed by the NI charity. The posters read: “Not Gay! Ex-Gay, Post-Gay and Proud. Get over it!”

A judge ruled Johnson did not abuse his position as chairman of Transport for London (TfL) when he imposed the ban, but ruled the process introducing it “was procedurally unfair, in breach of its own procedures and demonstrated a failure to consider the relevant issues”.