The owners of a bakery did not discriminate against a customer by refusing to make a cake supporting gay marriage, the Supreme Court has ruled.

Christian couple Daniel and Amy McArthur, who run Belfast-based Ashers Baking Company, told activist Gareth Lee they would not make the cake featuring Sesame Street puppets and the logo of campaign group Queerspace.

After a long-running legal battle over whether the McArthurs broke discrimination laws, five Supreme Court justices announced their decision in London on Wednesday.

Image: The cake supporting gay marriage was eventually made by another bakery

Delivering the ruling, Supreme Court president Lady Hale said the couple did not refuse to make the cake because of Mr Lee's sexual orientation.

She said: "Their objection was to the message on the cake, not to the personal characteristics of Mr Lee or anyone else with whom he was associated.


"The bakers could not refuse to supply their goods to Mr Lee because he was a gay man or supported gay marriage, but that is quite different from obliging them to supply a cake iced with a message with which they profoundly disagreed."

Image: Daniel and Amy McArthur have won their case in the Supreme Court

Lady Hale said the ruling was not in any way to diminish the need to protect gay people and people who support gay marriage from discrimination.

"It is deeply humiliating, and an affront to human dignity, to deny someone a service because of that person's race, gender, disability, sexual orientation, religion or belief. But that is not what happened in this case," she ruled.

Following the judgment, Mr Lee said he was made to feel "like a second-class citizen" by Ashers' refusal to make the cake he requested.

"The judgment today tells me that's okay," he said.

"I'm concerned about the implications for every single one of us" - The Supreme Court has ruled Gareth Lee wasn't discriminated against when a bakery refused to make him a cake supporting gay marriage.



For more on the story, head here: https://t.co/tZv38l1eSG pic.twitter.com/Zs8obbJND5 — Sky News (@SkyNews) October 10, 2018

"I'm concerned, not just for the implications for myself or other gay people, but for every single one of us. Do we have to guess when we go into a shop whether we're going to be served or not?"

Speaking outside court, Mr McArthur said the ruling "protects freedom of speech and freedom of conscience for everyone" and insisted Mr Lee was welcome to return to their bakery.

"We're particularly pleased the Supreme Court emphatically accepted what we've said all along - we did not turn down this order because of the person who made it, but because of the message itself," he said.

"The judges have given a clear signal today... family businesses like ours are free to focus on giving all their customers the best service they can - without being forced to promote other people's campaigns.

"We want to move on from this now, and I'm sure Mr Lee does as well. And let me finish by saying that he will always be welcome at any of our shops."

Image: Daniel McArthur spoke after the Supreme Court ruled in his favour

The McArthurs previously told Sky News they felt "victimised" after Mr Lee initially won his case against the bakery in the county court and then at the Northern Ireland Court of Appeal.

The activist had ordered the cake containing the words "support gay marriage" in 2014 for a private function marking International Day Against Homophobia.

The order was accepted and he paid in full but, two days later, Ashers called to say it could not proceed due to the message requested.

In the original court case, District Judge Isobel Brownlie ruled that religious beliefs could not dictate the law and ordered the firm to pay damages of £500.

Image: The bakery refused to ice a cake with the words 'support gay marriage'

Mounting an unsuccessful challenge at the Court of Appeal in Belfast in 2016, Ashers contended that it never had an issue with Mr Lee's sexuality, rather the message he was seeking to put on the cake.

David Scoffield QC, representing Ashers, argued that the state was penalising the baking firm, with the courts effectively compelling them to make a cake bearing a message with which they disagree as a matter of religious conscience.

Northern Ireland's Equality Commission, which supported the legal action taken by Mr Lee, said it was "disappointed" with the Supreme Court's ruling.

Its chief commissioner Michael Wardlow said: "There is a concern that this judgment may raise uncertainty about the application of equality law in the commercial sphere, both about what businesses can do and what customers may expect; and that the beliefs of business owners may take precedence over a customer's equality rights, which in our view is contrary to what the legislature intended."

Northern Ireland is the only part of the UK or Ireland where same-sex marriage is outlawed, with Prime Minister Theresa May's DUP allies staunch opponents of changing the law.

DUP leader Arlene Foster described the judgment as "historic and seminal".

She tweeted: "I commend Amy and Daniel McArthur for their grace and perseverance. This now provides clarity for people of all faiths and none."