Page "Frank Pakenham, 7th Earl of Longford" Paragraph 12

In his later years, he was often presented as a staunch opponent of gay rights.

In a 1998 House of Lords debate, he opposed the equalisation of the age of consent for gay men and provided support to Janet Young, Baroness Young in her opposition.

In a House of Lords debate in November 2000 he said: " Homosexual leanings are not to be condemned any more than schizophrenia or alcoholism, but they are sinful by Christian standards and those of many other churches.

If a young girl of 16 is seduced it may do her a great deal of harm, but a young man of 16 is turned into a rent boy.