An MP has accused the Church of England of discriminating against gay people after bishops were told same-sex spouses would not be invited to the Lambeth Conference.

In an interview with the Daily Telegraph to mark LGBT history month, Nigel Evans said the move could be classed as workplace discrimination and suggested the issue should be 'tested in the courts' and that this would be 'doing the Archbishop of Canterbury a favour'.

The Ribble Valley MP added: 'I'm a Christian and I want to get married in a Church. I've spoken to Justin Welby about it...it is not right that I am a first class gay but a second class Christian.'

The article quotes an employment lawyer, Danielle Parsons, who said: 'This seems like there's no problem with heterosexual partners bringing their partners, what seems to be the case here is that homosexual clergy are being singled out and treated differently.

'I can't see any reasonable basis for this.

'You'd have to look at the circumstances surrounding this but I think it's very hard to understand why this is happening and certainly in my view if any other workplace had this sort of rule it would be a discrimination issue.'

The general secretary of the Anglican Communion, Josiah Idowu-Fearon, announced the decision in a blog post. It was posted on the official website of the Lambeth Conference but later removed, sparking speculation regarding a U-turn; however Christian Today has been told the original decision still stands.