Richard Burden, Labour MP for Northfield, has also written to the Home Secretary to ask why one anti-gay speaker is banned while another is allowed into the UK.

Pastor John Hagee has previously claimed that Hurricane Katrina was God’s punishment for a planned gay pride rally. He has also caused anger by suggesting that the Holocaust was part of a divine plan. Hagee booked Birmingham’s Symphony Hall, which is run indirectly by the council, for a rally and seminars to be held on 19 and 20 August.

Richard Burden expressed his complaints after he was due to speak at an event with Muslim speaker Sheikh Raed Saleh but Saleh was arrested on arrival to the UK, having previously been banned from travelling here due to his anti-Semitism. Burden said, “It’s hard to understand why Raed Salah is banned from the UK while Pastor Hagee is welcomed despite his repulsive and bigoted views.”

Burden has written a letter to the Birmingham County Council leader. A spokeswoman for the council said, “If and when we receive this letter we will look at it but at this stage we do not have anything to add to what Symphony Hall has said.”

In a statement issued earlier this week, the general manager of the Symphony Hall, Chris Baldock, said, “We have a general open policy as regards all faith groups and have therefore accepted a booking from John Hagee Ministries. We have been made aware of the views expressed by individual members of the public and will be liaising with the organisers to discuss the matter further.”

[Via Birmingham Post]

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