Heterosexual couple win the right to civil partnership
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Heterosexual couple win the right to civil partnership

A couple campaigning for the right to have a civil partnership have won their legal case.

The Supreme Court have ruled in favour of Rebecca Steinfeld and Charles Keidan from London.

The court found the Civil Partnership Act 2004 - which only applies to same-sex couples - is in breach of the European Convention on Human Rights.

Chairman of the Equal Civil Partnerships campaign, Martin Loat,said: "There is only one possible way forward - giving everyone the right to a civil partnership - and we urge the government to seize this opportunity to announce it will end this injustice now."

A civil partnership gives a couple the same legal and financial protection for both partners but is free from the religious connotations of marriage.

Speaking to BBC, the couple said marriage was never an option for them.

The couple and have two children, said the "legacy of marriage" which "treated women as property for centuries" was not on the menu.

They said: "We want to raise our children as equal partners and feel that a civil partnership - a modern, symmetrical institution - sets the best example for them."