British Prime Minister David Cameron has come under renewed pressure over his support for gay marriage and has now been warned of the possibility of a "lesbian queen" ascending the kingdom's throne.
"When we have a queen who is a lesbian and she marries another lady and then decides she would like to have a child and someone donates sperm and she gives birth to a child, is that child heir to the throne?" questioned former Conservative party chairman Lord Norman Tebbit, in a bizarre twist to the party's opposition to the Same Sex Marriage Bill.
The legislation cleared the House of Commons yesterday with support from coalition partners Liberal Democrats and Opposition Labour, despite a Tory backbench revolt which saw 136 of Cameron's own MPs voting against the bill.
Echoing the deep party divide on the issue, Lord Tebbit also told the 'Big Issue' magazine that the legislation could even allow him to marry his son to escape inheritance tax.
"It would lift my worries about inheritance tax because maybe I'd be allowed to marry my son. Why not? Why shouldn't a mother marry her daughter? Why shouldn't two elderly sisters living together marry each other," he said, indicating that the bill will now face a bumpy ride when it reaches the House of Lords.
Lord Tebbit believes that ministers have alienated Tory grassroots and accuses Downing Street of forcing through the legislation with little thought.
The outspoken Tory politician is best known for his "cricket test" theory dating back to the 1990s for immigrants to gauge their loyalty to the UK in terms of the cricket team they supported - England or their country of origin.
He had categorically stated that most British Asians would fail the "Tebbit Test", a debate that rages even today.
Meanwhile, the same sex bill is due to receive its third Commons reading later today but is not expected to face opposition on the same scale as yesterday's vote.
Cameron has also emailed all Tory activists in an attempt to placate them after one of his allies and party co-chairmen, Lord Feldman, is believed to have referred to them as "swivel-eyed loons".
In his email, Cameron says party members would not agree on everything and there would always be "criticism from the sidelines" but he would never employ someone who "sneered" at them.
Lord Feldman, however, has denied making the alleged comment about Tory activists.
The British PM needs the support of grassroots activists to help him campaign for an outright majority at the next general election.
But there is growing anger among some at his stance on gay marriage and Britain's role in the European Union, with reports of defections to the right-wing UK Independence Party.
