It has already been a hard 24 hours, but the crew of the Peter Lilley roadshow say they are full of pep and raring to go The prize of the Tory leadership glitters in the distance. Several big names, they whisper, are about to declare their allegiance. The former secretary of state for social security is on a blitzkrieg across Britain addressing Conservative Party members. Travelling on an executive jet he is visiting six cities in four days. But it is likely to receive the same legal advice as the Tory government on the issues raised, and lawyers believe it may argue that there is no point in taking Mr Morris’s claim further until the European Court has ruled on the Sutherland case.A free vote in the Commons would almost certainly result in a majority in favour of reducing the age limit to 16. The Government is committed to compliance with the European Convention.

They should make time for a debate and vote on this as soon as possible.”Given Mr Sutherland’s success so far, the Government is unlikely to dispute the admissibility of Mr Morris’s case. “I feel that by discriminating against us, the Government gives out a very clear message to everyone else that it is fine to bash gays.”Mr Morris is arguing that the 18-year age limit contravenes two articles in the European Convention on Human Rights. His case mirrors that of Euan Sutherland, a student whose challenge to the law on age of consent was declared admissible by the commission last year. The Sutherland claim was fiercely contested by the last Conservative government.The commission, which screens cases for the European Court of Human Rights, is expected to issue a report shortly outlining its view of the merits of Mr Sutherland’s claim.Stonewall, the group that campaigns for homosexual rights, called on the Government yesterday to allow the free vote to take place as part of the Crime and Youth Justice Bill.Angela Mason, Stonewall’s director, said: “It is looking increasingly likely that the European Court of Human Rights will rule that the unequal age of consent is a breach of human rights. His tormentors taunted him with the fact that he was breaking the law.Mr Morris, of west London, turned 18 last week and is sitting A-levels next year. He said yesterday that he realised he was homosexual at 13 and had his first relationship two years later.”I had a lot of hostile responses initially, and there was the added burden of knowing that what I was doing was illegal,” he said.

It is unlikely that the Government would want to defend in Strasbourg something which the Commons will decide is indefensibleMr Morris, who was 16 when he lodged his application in Strasbourg, has been abused by fellow pupils for being gay and was on one occasion assaulted by a group of boys on a bus. The European Commission of Human Rights has asked the Government for a written response by 25 July to a claim by Chris Morris that the 18-year age limit is discriminatory and breaches the right to respect for his private life.
This means that the Government will have to decide whether to contest the case, the latest in a series brought in the European courts over gay equality issues.Successive Labour Party conferences have voted in favour of lowering the age of consent to 16 for homosexuals, and Jack Straw, now the Home Secretary, pledged in a pre-election speech last February to allow a free vote in the Commons.It is not known when that vote will take place, but given the size of the Labour majority, it is most probable that the age of consent will be lowered. The Government’s stance on equal rights for homosexuals is to be challenged for the first time, in the case of a schoolboy who has mounted a legal battle in Strasbourg against the age of consent. We did find him a suitable job in the short term and are currently in the process of retraining him iun the hope that he will be able to take up another job which will make better use of his skills and experience.”. At the time I left undercover work, there was no re-entry programme.

I don’t see why I should have to move to another force – we are happy where we live now.”He added: “I’ve got another 10 years in the job to get my long-service medal. I don’t want to be treated like a star, just with the respect I think I deserve.”He is now back with his wife, but his past still haunts him because associates of criminals he has helped to convict remain in circulation. Of one, he says: “I could bump into him at any time, and I’m worried about what he could do to my family if that happens.”David McCrone, assistant chief constable of Greater Manchester Police, said: “The officer concerned is in the middle of a rehabilitation programme and whilst his version of events is wildly innqaccurate it is not my wish to respond in detail in a way which may hamper his recovery.”A great deal of support has been given to the officer at all levels in the organisation and also by external specialists. And I was good at it.”But at the end of 1994 DC Burton says he was informed that he had become “over exposed” and had to give up his double life and return to normal policing. However, he insists that he got little support from the police about finding a new role and became increasingly worried about the safety of his family.He took 11 months sick leave during which time he separated from his wife and started taking Prozac. He eventually returned to work in January last year but was offered an administrative post.He said: “People have this image of undercover work being like Spender [the television series set in Newcastle], but it’s just not like that.”My whole life has changed because of the work I did.