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6:51am UK, Saturday February 18, 2012
Communities Secretary Eric Pickles has moved to reverse a High Court ruling stopping prayers at the start of council meetings in England.
After the court ruled last week that local authorities could not hold prayers during meetings, Mr Pickles said he was "effectively reversing" the judgement.
He has made the move using the Localism Act which enables councils to do anything an individual can do that is not illegal.
Mr Pickles believes this will render the High Court ruling - which followed objections to prayers at Bideford Town Council in Devon - irrelevant.
Mr Justice Ouseley ruled last week that councils lacked power under section 111 of the Local Government Act 1972 to hold prayers "as part of a formal local authority meeting".
The National Secular Society and an atheist ex-councillor had argued that Bideford Council was acting unlawfully by putting prayers on meeting agendas.
The ruling was condemned by Government ministers and clergy.
Eric Pickles says he is 'effectively reversing' the judgement
It is understood the ritual dates back in Bideford to the days of Queen Elizabeth I, and the council has recently voted twice to retain it.
Mr Pickles said: "The High Court judgement has far wider significance than just the municipal agenda of Bideford Town Council.
"By effectively reversing that illiberal ruling, we are striking a blow for localism over central interference, for freedom to worship over intolerant secularism, for Parliamentary sovereignty over judicial activism, and for long-standing British liberties over modern-day political correctness.
"Last week's case should be seen as a wake-up call. For too long, the public sector has been used to marginalise and attack faith in public life, undermining the very foundations of the British nation. But this week, the tables have been turned."
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