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Cinema ban for Lord's Prayer is 'ridiculous', says Cameron David Cameron hits out at cinema ban on Church of England advert
(about 2 hours later)
David Cameron has denounced as “ridiculous” the ban on a cinema advert featuring the Lord’s Prayer. The prime minister hascriticised the decision to ban a cinema advertisement commissioned by the Church of England and featuring the Lord’s Prayer.
The film, produced by JustPray.uk, shows the Lord’s Prayer being recited by members of the public ranging from bodybuilders to children and also features the Archbishop of Canterbury, the Most Rev Justin Welby. David Cameron’s spokesman told reporters at Westminster: “He thinks it is ridiculous” but he declined to expand.
The minute-long ad received clearance from the British Board of Film Classification and the Cinema Advertising Authority, but Digital Cinema Media (DCM) has refused to show it. Boris Johnson also condemned the ban, saying he expected it to be overturned, he said on Twitter.
Asked for the prime minister’s response to the ban, a Downing Street spokesman told a regular Westminster media briefing: “He thinks it is ridiculous.” The politicians were joined by Stephen Fry, who tweeted from Australia: “I’m in Oz, just heard. Banning the ad is bizarre, unfair and misguided.”
outrageous..This is a prayer that is 2000 years old and informs our whole culture. Expect U turn from cinemas #askboris @torrentcastle
The row erupted after Digital Cinema Media, which handles most big-screen advertising in the UK, rejected the ad, citing a policy of not running material that was political or religious in nature as it carried “the risk of upsetting, or offending, audiences”.
The Church of England said it was “bewildered” by the ban and warned of possible legal action. It is appealing to DCM to change its position.
A C of E spokes man, Arun Arora, said on Monday: “The Church is full to the brim of people like me who have made bad decisions and have had a change of heart. I would hope that those running DCM would have the strength of leadership to recognise they have made a mistake and reconsider their decision.”
Related: Richard Dawkins says UK cinemas should screen the Lord's Prayer
However, one of the UK’s leading advertising figures backed the ban. John Hegarty, who co-founded the top agency Bartle Bogle Hegarty, said it was right to have a ban on political and religious advertising in cinemas.
“People pay money to go to the cinema, very diverse audiences, and they really don’t want religion dictating to them,” he said. The subject matter was completely different from brands, such as trainers or soft drinks. “Religion deals with profound philosophical belief.”
If an advertisement on behalf of the church accepted, he said, it would be difficult to draw the line at adverts for Scientology or Jehovah’s Witnesses.
Related: Banning the Lord’s Prayer from cinemas is nonsense on stilts | Giles FraserRelated: Banning the Lord’s Prayer from cinemas is nonsense on stilts | Giles Fraser
The spokesman declined to expand on the rationale behind the PM’s view or to say whether Cameron thought the decision should be reversed. “The C of E is perfectly entitled to make its views known, but it should do so from the pulpit. But of course they can’t get many people to go to church so they want to take their message to the cinemas,” Hegarty said. However, he added, “in the end they’ve got even more publicity through this ban”.
Boris Johnson, the mayor of London, condemned the ban as “outrageous” and said he expected the decision to be reversed. In a Twitter question and answer session, he said: “This is a prayer that is 2,000 years old and informs our whole culture. Expect Uturn from cinemas.” The cultural commentator Peter York said an advert from the C of E should be permitted as an exception. “You can’t have an established church, and then say all religions are the same. As a nation we’ve collectively endorsed the C of E, even if it is by default.”
DCM, which sells advertising to some of Britain’s biggest cinema chains, defended its decision to keep the advert off screens, saying some ads could cause offence to people of different faiths, political persuasions or those of no faith. The advert, made by justpray.uk, shows a sequence of people in different settings saying the Lord’s Prayer. It has been launched on YouTube and is hosted on the CofE’s website.
The agency said it treats “all political or religious beliefs equally”.
The London-based firm, which handles adverts for Odeon, Cineworld and Vue cinemas, responded as the Church of England threatened legal action over the ban.
In a statement, DCM said it had “a policy of not accepting ‘political or religious advertising’ content for use in its cinemas”.
It added: “Some advertisements – unintentionally or otherwise – could cause offence to those of differing political persuasions, as well as to those of differing faiths and indeed of no faith.
“In this regard, DCM treats all political or religious beliefs equally.”
Welby said it was “extraordinary” that Britain’s biggest cinema chains had banned the advert.
The CoE initially believed it had been approved and would be played before showings of Star Wars: The Force Awakens from 18 December. But they were later told that due to a DCM policy not to run adverts that could potentially cause offence, the film would not be shown.
When asked for a copy of that policy, the CoE was told there was no formal policy document but that it had been agreed with DCM’s members.
A formal policy now appears on DCM’s website, stating: “To be approved, an advertisement must … not in the reasonable opinion of DCM constitute political or religious advertising.”
DCM did not immediately respond to reports that the document was only created last Friday – just two days before the Mail on Sunday revealed the ban.
Stephen Slack, the CoE’s chief legal adviser, has warned that the ban could trigger legal action under the Equality Act, which bans commercial organisations from refusing services on religious grounds.
But Terry Sanderson, the president of the National Secular Society, accused the church of being arrogant and trying to foist its opinions on captive cinema audiences.