Updated 10:40am

The UK's Supreme Court has ruled the Christian owners of a bakery in Belfast did not discriminate against a man by refusing to make him a cake supporting gay marriage.

Ashers bakery - owned by Daniel McArthur and his wife Amy - went to the UK's highest court after two previous rulings went against them.

A panel of justices has decided the bakers didn't refuse to serve the customer because of his sexual orientation, religion or beliefs.

A lower court previously ruled the decision not to bake the cake - iced with the slogan 'Support Gay Marriage' - was discriminatory.

Gareth Lee had asked the bakery to ice a cake depicting 'Sesame Street' characters Bert and Ernie and the logo for the campaign group, Queerspace.

In a judgement, the Supreme Court ruled: "The message was not indissociable from the sexual orientation of the customer, as support for gay marriage was not a proxy for any particular sexual orientation.

"The benefit of the message accrues not only to gay or bisexual people, but to their families and friends and to the wider community who recognise the social benefits which such commitment can bring. Thus, there was no discrimination on grounds of sexual orientation in this case."

It adds: "The McArthurs could not refuse to provide their products to Mr Lee because he was a gay man or because he supported gay marriage, but that was different from obliging them to supply a cake iced with a message with which they profoundly disagreed."

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Picture by: Brian Lawless/PA Archive/PA Images

Speaking outside court following today's judgement, Mr Lee said: "All I wanted was to order a cake in a shop that sold cakes - I paid my money, my money was taken, and then a few days later it was refused based upon the beliefs of the business owners.

"That made me feel like a second-class citizen, and the judgement today tell me that that's okay."

Owner Daniel McArthur, meanwhile, welcomed the decision.

He told reporters: "The judges have given a clear signal today - in fact it couldn't be clearer - [that] family businesses like ours are free to focus on giving all their customers the best service they can, without being forced to promote other people's campaigns.

"This ruling protects freedom of speech and freedom of conscience for everyone."

Reacting to the judgement, the Equality Commission for Northern Ireland said it was 'disappointed' in the Supreme Court's decision.

Dr Michael Wardlow, Chief Commissioner of the Equality Commission for Northern Ireland, observed: “There is a concern that this judgment may raise uncertainty about the application of equality law in the commercial sphere, both about what businesses can do and what customers may expect; and that the beliefs of business owners may take precedence over a customer’s equality rights, which in our view is contrary to what the legislature intended.”  

He added that the commission will examine the implications of the judgement 'carefully'.