New row involving Ashers bakery after it is alleged they refused order for engagement cake for gay couple

May 02, 2017, 09:10 AM

The Belfast bakery Ashers is in the headlines again. It comes as the company allegedly refused to make an engagement cake with a same-sex marriage slogan on it. The Sunday Life reported that Grainne McCann ordered and paid for a cake online for her friend Joe Palmer, who is to wed his partner Andy Wong. She requested the wording 'gay marriage rocks! Happy engagement, Andy and Joe! Lots of love xxx'. She says the order was accepted online by Ashers but the next day she got a cancellation note and a refund. This new row comes after a court ruled last October that the company had discriminated against a customer Gareth Lee due to his sexuality when it declined his order for a cake with a pro-gay marriage slogan. So is this discrimination or the legitimate right of a business to refuse custom on religious grounds? Stephen was joined by Peter Lynas from the Evangelical Alliance and the journalist and commentator Malachi O'Doherty.