THE magistrate who stepped down amid a gay adoption storm should set aside his bias and administer the law, says a Bournemouth clergyman.

Sheffield magistrate Andrew McClintock resigned after an employment tribunal refused to exempt him from adoption hearings where he might have to place children with gay couples.

He said it compromised his Christian beliefs and that moving a child from its natural family into the care of a gay couple would transfer it from "one kind of harm only to face another hazard".

As Bournemouth and Poole adoption chiefs stressed they would never discriminate on sexuality grounds, Rev Dwayne Morgan of Metropolitan Community Church, Pokesdown, said: "While I respect Mr McClintock's personal religious beliefs and support his right to hold them, as a magistrate he takes a judicial oath to set aside any bias he may have and is bound to administer the law."

Mr McClintock, who has launched an appeal against the tribunal's March ruling, is said to be one of a growing number of traditional Christians who feel laws giving equal rights to gay people are preventing them from acting in keeping with their religious beliefs.

Clarifying Poole Borough Council's stance, adoption manager Delia Amos said: "We welcome prospective adopters from all communities and backgrounds and do not discriminate on the basis of age, ethnicity, income or sexuality."

She insisted all individuals and couples who wish to adopt a child are subject to rigorous assessment and "each case is assessed on its own merits".

Ann Graham, head of childcare at Bournemouth Borough Council, agreed. She said: "We welcome adoption applications from all sectors of society, including applications from gay and lesbian couples."

Rev Morgan said: "What determines the well-being of a child is not the sexual orientation of their carer, but an environment of love, stability and security. This environment can be provided equally by two men, two women, or by a man and a woman."