London: A London high court judge has criticised a plan of British Prime Minister David Cameron to legalise gay marriages, saying ministers were wasting time on a "minority" issue that affects "0.1 percent of the population".
Paul Coleridge, who sits in the family division of the high court, said the government should focus on tackling the "crisis of family breakdown", the Daily Express reported.
He said letting gay couples wed in some churches and other places of worship was the "wrong policy".
Coleridge, 63, has launched an independent charity Marriage Foundation to support married couples but said the charity did not take a stance on gay marriage.
"So much energy and time has been put into this debate for 0.1 percent of the population, when we have a crisis of family breakdown," Coleridge was quoted as saying by the Daily Telegraph.
"It`s gratifying that marriage in any context is centre stage... but it (gay marriage) is a minority issue. We need a much more focused position by the government on the importance of marriage."
The judge continued: "The breakdown of marriage and its impact on society affects 99.9 percent of the population. That is where the investment of time and money should be, where we really do need resources."
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