Sir Ian McKellen has urged the government to move against religious groups that preach homophobic views.

McKellen came out as a gay man in 1988 and, though he believes in freedom of speech, insists that religion should not be used as a cover to incite prejudice against social groups.

He said: "On the whole I think it would be nice if people were polite to each other, although sometimes these leaders make it very difficult to be polite about Catholicism."