THE Bishop of Hereford the Rt Rev Anthony Priddis is at the centre of the controversy over the Church of England and equality after being ac-cused of refusing to employ a youth worker because he is gay.

The bishop will appear at an employment tribunal in Cardiff today when he is expected to defend his actions.

Lawyers say Bishop Anthony prevented John Reaney, from north Wales, being appointed even though he had been told after an interview with a panel that confirmation from the bishop was merely a formality.

Mr Reaney, aged 41, claimed instead of making the appointment, Bishop Anthony subjected him to embarrassing and intimate questions about his private life and then informed him by letter that he was not being offered the job.

Reaney's lawyers are expected to argue that his rejection was based solely on his sexual orientation and that heterosexual staff were never asked similar questions about their private lives.

Alison Downie, partner and head of employment at Bindman and Partners, said: "My client was unanimously recommended for the post by an interview panel of eight.

"The church discriminated against him on the grounds of his sexual orientation when the Bishop of Hereford refused to confirm his appointment to the post.

"In my view, the legal protection for gay people is robust and the church is not entitled to claim any exemption from that protection for such a post."

Anni Holden, a spokeswoman for the Bishop of Hereford, said: "The Bish-op of Hereford denies any unlawful discrimination and has acted in accordance with church teaching in applying a standard of sexual practice that applies equally to hetrosexuals, homosexuals, bi-sexuals and transsexual people, and not on the orientation of any particular group.

"We expect the same sexual standards of behaviour from support ministers or lay ministers as we do of the clergy."

She said that there would be no further comments while the tribunal was in progress.

The Church of England's policy is that it is acceptable for staff to be gay but they must remain celibate.

The hearing is scheduled to last for four days.