Red tape keeps Devizes couple in limbo (From This Is Wiltshire)

Red tape keeps Devizes couple in limbo

3:00pm Friday 28th January 2011 in News By Lewis Cowen

Four months after the Rev Colin Coward and his partner Bobby Egbele should have solemnised their partnership at St John’s Church in Devizes, they are still waiting for the go-ahead from Whitehall.

Mr Coward, 64, who preaches at St John’s Church in Devizes, and 25-year-old Nigerian Mr Egbele met through Mr Coward’s campaign group Changing Attitudes which is urging the Church of England to alter its stance on homosexual clergy.

They had planned a civil partnership ceremony at Devizes Register Office on October 9 and were just waiting for permission from the Immigration Department.

Four months later, they are still in limbo.

The story made national headlines and Mr Egbele was “utterly traumatised” by the publicity, according to Mr Coward, who wanted to make no comment when approached this week.

But he has previously expressed his frustration at the delay in permission for Mr Egbele to stay in Britain and therefore be free to enter into a “gay marriage” with Mr Coward.

He said: “We were told a week before the date in October that the papers were in the post by registered mail but nothing turned up.

“All this time later we are still waiting. It is very frustrating. But it hasn’t changed our feelings for each other.”

Claire Perry MP has taken up the men’s case and she said she will be chasing up the Home Office this week. Speaking from Strasbourg she said: “The last conversation I had with Colin, it was still in the hands of the Home Office.

“The trouble is we have inherited a huge backlog of cases like this from the last government and it is going to take time to sort it all out."