Scottish Catholic Observer

The Foreign Secretary William Hague has dismissed Catholic concerns about the Act of Settlement saying its repeal is not a priority for the coalition government.

Responding to a question form Welsh Labour MP Chris Bryant in the House of Commons yesterday, Mr Hague did say he accepted that the anti-Catholic nature of the Act was a ‘legitimate’ issue.

Defenders of the Act have suggested that every commonwealth country that has the Queen as head of state would have to agree to the change. As head of the Foreign and Commonwealth Office Mr Hague would oversee any discussions on the issue.

“The previous Government had started negotiations and discussions about the Act of Settlement with other Commonwealth countries that share our monarch as their head of state,” Mr Bryant said.

He then enquired if Mr Hague accepted that the Act’s  ‘provisions that mean that no Catholic or anyone who does not subscribe to the Church of England can become monarch (and) are outdated, as are the rules on male primogeniture?’

Mr Hague said in response that the issue was not as important as others.

“I recognise the force of the arguments about something that was originally set out more than 300 years ago. Among the issues of middle east peace, the Iranian nuclear programme and so on,” he said. “I have not yet put that at the top of my list to negotiate with other Governments, but it is a legitimate issue for the long term, on which all the Commonwealth Governments with the Queen as head of state would have to be consulted and agree.”