Former Lib Dem leader Tim Farron admits lying about his views on gay sex and DOES think it is a sin

Tim Farron has admitted that he misled the public during last year’s General Election campaign when he said he did not think gay sex was a sin.

The former Lib Dem leader avoided answering the question for weeks but was finally forced to admit he did not believe sex between two men to be sinful.

He told the BBC at the time: “I don’t believe gay sex is a sin… if people have got the wrong opinion of what I think of those issues, it’s right to correct it.”

However, in an interview with Premier Christian Radio, Mr Farron has now admitted misleading people in his initial answer.

Admitting to feeling under pressure to come out in support of gay sex, he said: “There are things I said, including that, that I regret. There was a sense in which I felt, I’ve got to get this off my table.

“There was a General Election and all they wanted to do was talk about my Christian beliefs.

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“I foolishly and wrongly attempted to push it away by giving an answer that frankly was not right.”

He added: “I found myself in a situation, partly because of events beyond my control and partly because of things that were my fault, where I either had to be compromising my faith and say things that were not true – or be true to my faith, and be in a situation where I sucked all of the attention away from our main message.”

Mr Farron found himself under pressure to explain what he felt about gay sex during the election when footage emerged of him refusing to answer the question during a Channel 4 News interview in 2015.

Journalists continued to probe the then Lib Dem leader for weeks over his stance on the subject, before he seemingly made his position clear during the BBC interview.

However, the issue clouded the Liberal Democrat campaign, which attempted to focus on derailing Brexit, and Mr Farron quit as leader after the election.

Explaining his Christian beliefs, Mr Farron told Premier Christian Radio: “It’s tricky really. In the end, if you’re a Christian you’ve got a very clear idea of what you think a sin is.

“It is us falling short of the glory of God. That is something that all of us share.”

Sir Vince Cable, who replaced Mr Farron as party leader, welcomed Mr Farron back on to the Lib Dem front bench, telling Pink News: “He apologised, stepped down as leader, but he’s a very good liberal and genuinely a liberal. His voting record is exemplary on gay rights issues.”

A Lib Dem spokesman told Yahoo News UK: “The Liberal Democrats have a proud history of fighting for LGBT+ rights.

“From the Liberal Party being the first UK party to commit to a gay rights policy, to the Liberal Democrats introducing Equal Marriage in the Coalition, we have been at the forefront of the fight for LGBT+ causes.”