MORE than a third of the British public have said they would not necessarily ban the practice of trying to force gay people to be straight through 'therapy', an Oxford charity has found.

Only 62 per cent of people questioned said they would definitely want 'conversion therapy' to be criminalised in a survey by the Ozanne Foundation.

A total of 14 per cent of the 1,671 people surveyed said there should not be a ban on the practice, and 24 per cent said they 'did not know'.

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The poll, conducted by YouGov, also found that those were who were not religious were more likely to vote for a legal ban.

The Ozanne Foundation was set up by Oxford's Jayne Ozanne, a gay Christian woman who was herself subjected to the 'therapy' for years.

She said: “These results show that the majority of the British people, including those who are religious, agree conversion therapy should be banned.

“We know that this is currently still being practised by religious groups across the country.

“We urgently ask the Government to act in order to safeguard the lives of young people.

“A ban will ensure a clear signal is given that this abhorrent practice will not be tolerated in the UK.”

The Conservative Government has recently begun discussing a ban.