UK challenged the right to civil partnerships of gay couples abroad
The government attempted to prevent same-sex couples in other countries from gaining the right to enter into civil partnerships, the Guardian has learned.
Despite the fact that civil partnerships are recognised under UK law, the government made legal submissions to the European court of human rights arguing that Austria should not have an obligation to provide the same rights to same-sex couples there. The move is at odds with its own professed commitment to equality for lesbians, gay and bisexual people, which saw the UK become one of only three European countries to recognise same-sex relationships under the 2004 Civil Partnership Act....