A TRAINEE psychotherapist was due to face a disciplinary hearing this week after he described homosexuality as a sin.

During a BBC local-radio interview about therapy offered to "those experiencing unwanted same-sex attraction", in January last year, Dr Mike Davidson, a director of Core Issues Trust, said: "Yes, I do believe homosexuality is a sin." The interviewer subsequently complained to the British Psychodrama Association (BPA), and Mr Davidson was suspended from the organisation.

In a statement, Christian Concern described the allegations against Dr Davidson as "purely against the expression of his views and therefore an issue of free speech rather than his ethical conduct as a therapist."

Andrea Minichiello Williams, the chief executive of the Christian Legal Centre, which is supporting Dr Davidson, said that the "attempt to ban those with Christian beliefs on sexual ethics from being therapists is the real unethical conduct here."

The BPA was unavailable for comment; its professional-conduct committee is expected to publish its findings in March.