Labour MP praises controversial church after Sir Keir Starmer forced to apologise for visiting it

A Labour MP has praised the work of a controversial church after Sir Keir Starmer was forced to apologise for visiting it at Easter.

Stephen Timms said he applauded the “extraordinary work” of Jesus House in Brent, which has attracted criticism for its opposition to gay rights legislation.

The church’s senior pastor, Agu Irukwu, has spoken out against same-sex marriage and other laws that protect gay people from discrimination.

In a now-deleted video, Sir Keir praised Jesus House as a "wonderful example" of a church serving its community during the coronavirus pandemic including acting as a vaccination centre.

On Tuesday, he said he accepted it was a "mistake" to visit the church, but stressed that he was "not aware" of the establishment's views on LGBT+ rights.

The Labour leader has also deleted his Easter message. "I completely disagree with Jesus House's beliefs on LGBT+ rights,” he said. “I apologise for the hurt my visit caused and have taken down the video.”

But Mr Timms, a Labour MP since 1994 and an evangelical Christian, later said he supported the church.

“I applaud the extraordinary work of Jesus House, and of churches and other faith groups, in supporting our communities throughout the past year,” he tweeted.

Mr Timms’ comments drew the ire of the group LGBT+ Labour, which said it was “disappointed” and would discuss the matter with him in private.

The row over Jesus House also prompted questions of the Prime Minister, who visited the church himself last month.

Allegra Stratton, Boris Johnson’s press secretary, said: "We remember the visit to Jesus House well, because that day it was the site of a pop-up centre for vaccines.

"And one of the main jobs inside government over the last few weeks and months has been driving up vaccine take-up in communities that are hesitant about taking it, most notably the black community.

"That was the purpose of his visit that day. It was a profitable visit where he was able to meet black community leaders and work to increase vaccine take-up and deal with vaccine hesitancy.”

In 2017, Theresa May was criticised when she visited the church

The Prince of Wales has also visited the pop-up vaccination centre there in recent weeks.