Idan Dershowitz said that he had studied the development of the Old Testament and found that the original version of Leviticus expressly permitted gay sex.

Writing in the New York Times, he explained: “Chapter 18 of Leviticus contains a list of forbidden incestuous acts, followed by prohibitions against sex with a menstruating woman, bestiality and various other sexual acts.

“In Verse 22, we find its most famous injunction ‘You shall not lie with a male as with a woman; it is an abomination’.

“Leviticus 20:13 repeats this law, along with a punishment for those who violate it: ‘They shall be put to death; their blood is upon them’.”

He went on to write: “Like many ancient texts, Leviticus was created gradually over a long period and includes the words of more than one writer. Many scholars believe that the section in which Leviticus 18 appears was added by a comparatively late editor, perhaps one who worked more than a century after the oldest material in the book was composed.

“An earlier edition of Leviticus, then, may have been silent on the matter of sex between men.”

“As I argue in an article published in the latest issue of the journal Hebrew Bible and Ancient Israel, there is good evidence that an earlier version of the laws in Leviticus 18 permitted sex between men. In addition to having the prohibition against same-sex relations added to it, the earlier…

Allen Coote also branded a subsequent concession by leaders to permit him up to 30-minutes speaking time outside the landmark per-week as “unreasonable”.

The 55-year-old from east London told Premier’s News Hour: “I can’t see why there was a problem.

“Nobody [members of the public] actually complained.

“I’m not sure why they wanted to take action on me but I felt it was right for me to read the Bible and I’ve been doing it since.”

The cathedral responded by saying it had a policy of limiting any “source of disturbance” outside its doors, in order to offer visitors a “welcoming space”.

It said in a statement: “The Chapter’s policy is to allow a short interval and then ask the person to stop, and to involve the police if they refuse to do so or to move off the Cathedral’s land.

“The police are supportive of this policy and on one occasion briefly arrested a man who regularly returned to read loudly passages from the Bible because he was refusing to respond to polite requests from Cathedral staff to move on.

“After this incident, the man concerned had a meeting with one of the Cathedral clergy, following which Chapter agreed to suspend its policy for this particular person so that he could read the Bible, as he requested, for half an hour outside the Cathedral once a week.”

Coote, who is a full-time bus driver, says his treatment contradicts the Epistle Dedicatory – a…

Charles’ statement will say he was “deceived” by Ball and that he was unaware of the true nature of the clergyman’s behaviour until more than 20 years after allegations first surfaced, it was reported last week.

The statement is due to be read on July 27, as the inquiry examines how abuse allegations against the former Church of England bishop were handled.

Ball, jailed in 2015 for sexually abusing 18 young men over 30 years, previously boasted of his links to royalty and was said to be a confidant of Charles.

At the outset of a five-day case study into Ball, IICSA chairwoman Professor Alexis Jay said the leak was a “very serious breach of confidence by someone with direct access to information in this investigation” and promised “firm action” should the source be uncovered.

She said the inquiry panel was “disappointed” at the breach, describing it as something that “not only undermines the authority of the inquiry to get to the truth but can also erode public confidence in the inquiry at all levels”.

All core participants and those with access to the statement will be asked to confirm in writing whether they shared it with any unauthorised party, she added.

“I have already set in motion an investigation to identify the source of this leak and will take firm action to protect the integrity of the Inquiry should the source be identified,” said Prof Jay, who said the…

A church bell at Williams Chapel at College of the Ozarks chimed 17 times for those who died last Thursday at Table Rock Lake.

More than a dozen survivors of the tragedy, along with their family and friends, filled the front pews of the church to organ music.

Although a police officer guarded their privacy, he allowed one person, Carmen Lawson, to deliver pink and red roses after the service to a family that lost nine loved ones.

“It was such a tragedy,” said Ms Lawson, 61, of Branson, who delivered the flowers.

“I feel for the family.”

Branson mayor Karen Best recalled the desperate family members who turned to City Hall for information about their loved ones.

“We started putting faces with names. Those who were once strangers to us quickly became family,” Ms Best said.

“They were a part of our community. And we did what families do. We held hands, we wept and we prayed together.”

She praised the people who tried to save others from drowning, calling them “heroes who did everything in their power to save lives”.

The service was held at the college near the site of the accident, which happened as winds approached hurricane strength.

The city and college hosted the remembrance for the victims.

“Today we are all family,” said College of the Ozarks President Jerry C. Davis.

“We are here to comfort those who have been affected by this tragedy in so many, many ways.”

Online…