A House of Lords vote against the government's proposals on “homophobic hatred” has provoked mixed reactions, with both Christian and secular activists on each side.

The Church of England and the Catholic Bishops' Conference of England have expressed concerns about a government amendment to the Public Order Act 1986 creating a new offence of incitement to hatred on grounds of sexual orientation.

Plans to make inciting hatred against gay people a crime have received a mixed response from church groups.