PRAYERS will no longer be said before Whitchurch Town Council meetings after councillors voted to abolish the practice.

As reported previously in the Andover Advertiser, the council debated the issue in January after Cllr Steven Neilson proposed ending the tradition.

Cllr Neilson, who is stepping down from the council at the next election, previously said that he felt “intimidated” by the practice and claimed that only about half of the councillors take part.

Following a long debate in January, councillors voted three for and three against the proposal, with several abstentions, giving council chairman Mike Kean the casting vote.

Despite originally voting to continue the practice, Cllr Kean declined to use his casting vote and asked councillors to “reflect on the issue and bring it back to council at a later date”.

However, since that discussion, the council decided it had made a mistake in debating the issue at a meeting as prayers took place prior to meetings and are not part of council business.

Councillors agreed not to carry Cllr Neilson’s proposal and instead decided to propose, prior to their last meeting, if a ‘period of reflection’ should be allowed before meetings.

The proposal was rejected by a majority of councillors, meaning the practice of prayers before meetings will no longer take place.

Whitchurch Town Council’s decision comes amid a national debate after High Court judges ruled it “unlawful” to include prayers on a council agenda.

The ruling, made against Bideford Town Council, was greeted by the National Secular Society, who originally raised the case, while Communities and Local Government Minister, Eric Pickles, weighed into the debate, promising to “give back the freedom to pray”.