TWO social workers from Merseyside have spoken out after being threatened with the sack over their views on gay adoption.
Dawn Jackson and Norah Ellis were told in a letter that they could lose their jobs after expressing informal opposition to adoption by gay and lesbian couples.
Eventually Sefton council moved the pair into other positions within the social services department.
Mrs Ellis, 46, from Ormskirk, has worked for Sefton social services for 26 years and has an "exemplary" record.
She says her Christian faith coincides with her professional view that same-sex couples could not provide the right environment for bringing up children.
The mother-of-two said: "I am not homophobic but the welfare of the child must come first, ahead of any politically-correct policies of equal opportunity.
"Adoption is about helping children in care. It is not about issues of the homosexual lifestyle."
Mrs Jackson and Mrs Ellis say they were shocked when they received a letter from social services chief Charlie Barker asking them to reconsider their position.
The letter said: "I must warn you at the outset that, if you maintain that you are not able to work with same-sex couples, it is likely that I will have to terminate your employment."
After being faced with legal action, the council backed down but the two women said the threats made it impossible for them to return to their jobs.
They are now working within Adult Services.
Mrs Jackson, from Crosby, said: "We were compromised by what happened and lost faith in the senior management.
"I am concerned that there are many other people in the country with Christian, personal or professional concerns about same-sex adoption who would be afraid to speak out because they fear for their jobs."
Mrs Ellis added: "Children in care know they are different from other children and are desperate to be like everybody else. Placing them with a homosexual or lesbian couple will only make them feel even more different.
