TONY Blair will end the stand- off between the churches and Labour MPs over the provision of gay adoption by finding other ways of dealing with the difficult-to-place children taken care of by the Catholic adoption agencies.
After a day in which the row intensified at Westminster, government sources revealed last night that the Prime Minister was considering a transition period in which the Catholic agencies could be phased out over a period of years.
In a compromise which is not expected to please the churches or the gay rights' supporters, Mr Blair has sought to find an alternative which prioritises the needs of difficult children and their care post-adoption.
In Scotland, the Catholic Church complained the new Westminster legislation was a "betrayal" of assurances it received when controversial adoption legislation was passed by Holyrood in December. The executive insisted there was no betrayal - and that the Church would have known in December of the Westminster legislation.
At Westminster cabinet ministers lined up to uphold the equality legislation, and rumours of ministers threatening to resign if the government allowed Catholic adoption agencies to turn away gay couples swept through Whitehall.
In the afternoon the Prime Minister's official spokesman made clear that Mr Blair was concerned with more than the principle of upholding equality.
He said: "What we have to do is focus on the factual position and the factual impact on the children who are at the heart of this, and recognise that this isn't just a debate about principles - it is also a debate about how to help very vulnerable children, not just during the period in care but in aftercare as well."
Some Whitehall sources believe both the Church and the gay rights activists are looking for a fight over the legislation.
If enacted in full it would not allow Catholic adoption agencies to turn away gay couples, but the Catholic Church has threatened to close its agencies rather than comply.
The Catholic agencies place around 200 children, including some of the most difficult cases, for adoption each year, and offer aftercare to around 2000.
Equality legislation is reserved and would prevail in Scotland.
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