Let me turn to some of the objections which have their basis in a religious view. My own position is this: if you lead a good life, any god worth knowing will accept you into his or her heaven. I do not think-since I went to an Anglican school-that there will be any St Peter at the gates despatching infidels to another place, smirking behind his hand that this sucker made the mistake of going to a Catholic, an Anglican or a Baptist church, or being a Jew, a Hindu or a Muslim. If the basis for getting into heaven is that you pick the right church, then frankly I'm not terribly interested in going there. It could be a very boring place.

I think living by a decent set of values is far more important than defending religious dogma. I'm confident that if you lead a good life and there is a kingdom of heaven you will be welcomed. Your religion is your business and no-one else's. My personal view is that when you make your religion an issue, you drag it into the political domain and you tarnish it. It follows that I attach very little importance to such arguments.

My point is quite simple: each to his own religion. If you say to me that doing something is against God's will, then I will respond by assuring you that if God is annoyed, God will punish whomever has done that thing. Over the years, as I have been approaching 50, I can assure you I have had every confidence in God's ability to settle accounts. It has not been my experience that he or she usually waits until you are dead. Many people who have done the wrong thing have met their maker in a practical sense while they were still alive ... I simply ask those who, because of their beliefs, have a very genuine concern about this bill, to accept that they are entitled to follow their beliefs. They are not entitled to demand, by legislation, that everybody else does the same.