Tim Farron 'regrets' saying gay sex is not a sin

Former Liberal Democrat leader Tim Farron regrets saying gay sex is not a sin during the 2017 General Election campaign.

Farron, who stepped down as leader following the election because he was torn "between being a Christian and a political leader", told the BBC he did not believe gay sex was a sin following weeks of evading the same question during various interviews.

He told the broadcaster: "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."

The ex-leader has now said he "regrets" what he said but was trying to get the issue out of the way so he could discuss things that were more important for the Liberal Democrat party.

Asked if he felt pressured to change his opinion and say he did not think gay sex was a sin, Farron told Premier Christian Radio: "The bottom line is of course I did and there are things – including that – that I said that I regret." He added that he wanted to get the issue "off my table" so other issues could be discussed ahead of the election.

He went on: "All they [journalists] wanted to do is talk about my Christian beliefs and what it actually meant... I, foolishly and wrongly, attempted to push it away by giving an answer that frankly was not right."

Farron said he had a "wonderful" team around him at Lib Dem HQ but none of them were Christians, meaning they did not understand the issue.

Explaining his dilemma, Farron said: "I'm sure there are things I could have handled more wisely. In the end, the difficulty you've got is if you're a Christian you've got a very clear idea about what a sin is, and it is us falling short of the glory of God, and that is something we equally all of us share.

"So in one sense to be asked that question is to essentially persecute one group of human beings because sin is something we all, Jesus excepted, are guilty of, but if you're not a Christian what does sin mean? It's to be accused of something, it is to be condemnatory, so we're talking different languages."

At the time, a Liberal Democrat spokesperson strongly denied that Farron had lied about his beliefs. A YouGov poll found that 46% of people think a politician should stay true to their religious beliefs over their party's ideology.

After the latest interview on Premier Christian Radio, people were shocked that Farron was still talking about his "outdated" views on gay sex. One used a gif to invoke the popular meme that Farron's views should "get in the sea".

And someone pointed out the irony that if you search LGBT on Farron's official website, the error message "something is broken" comes up – a representation of his "archaic opinions"?

Some used the excuse to point out the worrying track record of the Lib Dems and former leader Nick Clegg's infamous promise...