I regret saying that gay sex is not a sin, Tim Farron admits

Former Liberal Democrat leader Tim Farron has said he regrets saying that gay sex is not a sin.

The staunch Christian made the statement during the 2017 general election campaign when he was coming under extreme pressure to clarify his position on the issue, which he had initially attempted to dodge by saying "We are all sinners".

He has now said that he was "foolish" to allow himself to be pressured into saying something which he did not believe was right, in the hope that it would allow him to redirect media attention onto his party's policies.

Mr Farron quit as Lib Dem leader after the election, saying he had found it impossible to reconcile the demands of the position with his faith.

In an interview with Premier Christian Radio, Mr Farron was asked whether he felt pressured into saying gay sex was not a sin.

He replied: "The bottom line is of course I did. And there are things - including that - that I said that I regret."

Mr Farron said that as he tried to promote the Lib Dem message, the media appeared only to be interested in talking about his Christian faith.

"I, foolishly and wrongly, attempted to push it away by giving an answer that, frankly, was not right," he said.

"There was a sense in which I felt 'I have got to get this off my table'."