Peter Tatchell warns bishops ‘time is running out’ to avoid being outed

Peter Tatchell has repeated his threat to out Church of England bishops, warning them that “time is running out” to accept same-sex marriage.

The veteran rights campaigner threatened to name prominent gay bishops in July if they disciplined members of the clergy who have entered into same-sex marriages.

Gay hospital chaplain Jeremy Pemberton subsequently had an NHS job withdrawn, after the Bishop of Southwell and Nottingham withdrew his Permission to Officiate for marrying his partner.

Mr Tatchell told Christian Today: “Given the Church of England’s homophobic policies towards gay people and same-sex marriage, there is growing pressure for the outing of bishops who oppose gay equality. Dossiers are being prepared on a number of senior clergy.

“Support for outing clerical homophobes and hypocrites is increasing all the time…. We don’t want to out them but if they do not dissent from the Church’s discriminatory policies we’ll have no option. Time is running out.”

In 1994, Tatchell’s LBGT rights group OutRage! named 10 bishops in an attempt to get them to clarify their sexuality.

The Bishop of Buckingham recently estimated that around one in ten Church of England Bishops are living in the closet.