Gay marriage in Britain 'could lead to lesbian queen giving birth to heir via artificial insemination'

LONDON (AFP) - The debate in Britain over legalising gay marriage took a surreal turn on Tuesday after a senior politician said it could result in a lesbian queen giving birth to an heir by artificial insemination.

Lord Norman Tebbit, a member of Prime Minister David Cameron's Conservative party who sits in the House of Lords, also joked that it could see him marry his own son to escape inheritance tax.

Lord Tebbit's intervention comes amid fevered debate in Parliament over a Bill to legalise same-sex marriage, which is opposed by many of Mr Cameron's Conservative lawmakers.

"I said to a minister I know: Have you thought this through? Because you're doing the law of succession, too," Lord Tebbit, 82, told The Big Issue magazine.