by Karen Faulkner, Worthy News Correspondent
(Worthy News) - The leading British bank Barclays has closed the account of a Christian charity which tries to help people overcome unwanted same-sex attraction, Premier Christian News reports.
The Core Issues Trust charity said it appears the bank shut their account after being pressured to do so by LGBTQ activists.
Speaking to Premier, Core Issues Trust founder Mike Davidson explained: "On Monday 20 July, I received two letters from Barclays Bank saying that they would be closing our accounts on the 14th of September in accordance with their customer agreement.” Davidson continued: “I then wrote to them and ask them for an explanation. And they pointed me to a clause in their customer agreement statement, which simply says that either party can terminate the account. So they are giving us no reason."
A spokesperson for Barclays told Premier: “We do not comment on individual cases. Our terms and conditions – like other banks – allow us to end a relationship with any customer, provided we give two months’ notice.”
Although no official reason was given for terminating the account, Davidson said it is important to realize that Barclays is well known for its support of the LGBTQ cause and its strong support for pride in London. "I think it's important to recognize that Barclays features very highly on Stonewall's employer list, I think it's number 30. So, it's very clearly a priority," he said.
Davidson added that the closure was apparently due to pressure applied on social media. ”It is possible to track a Twitter conversation between several LGBT activists and others who are demanding that Barclays close our accounts. So this is not speculation," he said.