Civil partnerships should be extended, according to the Kirk

Professor Iain Torrance said he could see no reason why plans to allow civil partnerships for gay couples should not be extended to heterosexual partners.

He made the comment during a lunch hosted by the Scottish Secretary Alistair Darling.

Prof Torrance said he did not see his call as an attack on the sanctity of marriage, but many church leaders do.

It's about a justice matter and to do with civil partnerships Prof Torrance

He said: "Here we see a mechanism which will enable people who lead very mobile lives to have greater faithfulness and greater structures in their lives - who are we to condemn it?

"I don't believe it's talking about, as is sometimes said, gay marriages. It's about a justice matter and to do with civil partnerships."

Scottish ministers decided not to introduce new legal rights for same-sex couples, choosing instead to pass the decision to colleagues at Westminster.

The Scottish Cabinet has ruled that, while ministers have the power to legislate north of the border, they would rather wait for Westminster to legislate for the whole of the UK.

Married couples

The Westminster plans would allow partnerships to be formally registered, giving visiting rights in hospital, a share in a dead partner's pension and exemption from inheritance tax on a shared home.

Justice Minister Cathy Jamieson said separate legislation in Scotland could lead to a "postcode lottery of rights" north and south of the border.

Nor, said Ms Jamieson, would the Scottish Executive support a bill proposed by Green MSP Patrick Harvie, which would enable same-sex couples in Scotland to formally register their partners, giving them similar rights to married couples.

The decision has angered and disappointed some MSPs who believe Scotland should be prepared to go its own way.