The House of Commons have been voting on the Northern Ireland (Executive Formation) Bill, which aims to get the Northern Irish assembly functioning again.

Added to this bill have been amendments on legalising same-sex marriage and abortion in Northern Ireland, both issues which cannot be changed currently due to their assembly not sitting.

Seven of the 10 DUP MPs voted against the amendments, two acted as tellers (those who reveal the results) and Northern Irish independent MP Lady Sylvia Hermon voted for the amendments.

Abortion is now set to be decriminalised in Northern Ireland from 22nd October and regulations will be in place from 31st March 2020.

The repealing of the 1861 Offences Against the Persons Act will mean that the laws around abortion in Northern Ireland will be the most liberal in the UK.

Aborting a pregnancy would then be allowed up to 28 weeks (it is 24 in the rest of the UK).

Right To Life UK spokesperson, Clare McCarthy, said: “The people of Northern Ireland have thirteen weeks to stop the introduction of one of the worlds most extreme abortion regimes to the province.

“Many thousands of people in Northern Ireland are deeply angered and distressed by this action by the Westminster Parliament. The manner in which MPs from Westminster have attempted to impose abortion on a people that do not want it, and who they do not represent, is grossly…

Rehman Chishti, the MP for Gillingham and Rainham, led the call for greater use of the multibillion-pound budget to help Christians as MPs debated the Bishop of Truro’s recent report on persecution overseas.

MPs also raised concerns over abuse targeted at them after they voted against same-sex marriage and abortion reform in Northern Ireland.

Speaking in the Commons, Mr Chishti said: “Greater use of our aid to persecuted Christian communities around the world is something we should seriously consider.”

He added: “As somebody who is a passionate supporter for international development aid, shouldn’t that now be targeted to support persecuted Christian communities around the world?”

This comes after a review into the Foreign Office’s response to persecuted Christians was released last week. 

Tory former minister and Christian MP Andrew Selous raised an example of a Nigerian refugee camp where Christians were refused access to food because of their faith.

He said: “It is really important that Dfid, if it is involved in helping those refugees, makes sure that British aid is going to everyone who needs it regardless of their faith and that sort of discrimination is not allowed to happen.”

Former minister Sarah Newton said persecution against Christians is “primarily a phenomenon of the global poor”.

The Tory MP for Truro and Falmouth said: “To understand why the review…

The quote, which has now been restored, read: “Let us never assume that if we live good lives we will be without sin; our lives should be praised only when we continue to beg for pardon. But men are hopeless creatures, and the less they concentrate on their own sins, the more interested they become in the sins of others. They seek to criticise, not to correct. Unable to excuse themselves, they are ready to accuse others.”

Mr Bettinelli reposted the quote after noticing it was taken down from the site after two priests posted the same extract.

A message was sent to Mr Bettinelli, notifying him that his post was in breach of their community rules, thought to be issued as the result of a Facebook algorithm.

Mr Bettinell argued that the quote is the opposite of hate speech, sharing the words of Matthew 7:3 to make his point: “Hate speech? It’s the opposite of hate speech. It’s calling for people to stop focusing on others’ sins and concentrate on their own. Augustine is just re-formulating Jesus’ own words from the Gospel: ‘Why do you notice the splinter in your brother’s eye, but do not perceive the wooden beam in your own eye?'”

Following the incident, Mr Bettinelli requested that a human review reconsider the decision and later had his appeal rejected.

Facebook invited him to respond to the rejection to which Mr Bettinelli responded: “I still don’t understand why…

Missionary siblings Rembertus Cornelis Beerepoot and Fanny Alida Beerepoot, of Tasmania, stopped paying the tax since 2011. This les to their farm being seized and sold by their local council in 2017.

Solicitor Stephen Linden told the court the pair had been served two notices of their debt and had failed to supply their tax returns.

Mr Beerepoot argued that God’s law is the “supreme law of this land”. 

He told the court: “We believe that the constitution affirms the fact that the Commonwealth resides within the jurisdiction of the law of the Almighty God and the law of the Almighty God is the supreme law of this land.

“Transferring our allegiance from God to the Commonwealth would mean rebelling against God and therefore breaking the first commandment.

“As we reject God, the curses upon us become greater, but if we return to God’s teachings there will be healing.

“We rely on the blessings we receive from God which we give to him and not to an outside entity such as the tax office.”

However, in his judgment, Associate Justice Stephen Holt questioned the biblical link to abstaining from paying taxes.

Justice Holt explained: “I believe the submissions to be honestly and genuinely held beliefs rather than an attempt to avoid tax liabilities.

“But in my view, the Bible effectively said that civil matters and the law of God operate in two different spheres.”

Justice Holt…