David Cameron Denounces Ban on Lord's Prayer Advert

The UK Prime Minister has weighed in on a controversy surrounding a cinema advert featuring the Lord's Prayer, denouncing the ban as "ridiculous". The one-minute ad, produced by JustPray.uk, shows members of the public reciting the Lord's Prayer, including the Archbishop of Canterbury, the Most Rev Justin Welby. Despite receiving clearance from the British Board of Film Classification and the Cinema Advertising Authority, Digital Cinema Media (DCM) has refused to show the advert, citing a policy against "political or religious advertising". The Church of England (CoE) has threatened legal action over the banning of the ad.

Key Takeaways:

• David Cameron has denounced the ban on the Lord's Prayer advert as "ridiculous".
• The advert, produced by JustPray.uk, features the Archbishop of Canterbury, the Most Rev Justin Welby, and shows members of the public reciting the Lord's Prayer.
• Digital Cinema Media (DCM) has refused to show the advert, citing a policy against "political or religious advertising".
• The Church of England (CoE) has threatened legal action over the banning of the ad.
• The advert was initially believed to have been approved and would have been shown before screenings of Star Wars: The Force Awakens.
• Archbishop Welby has described the ban as "extraordinary".

Statistics:

• The advert is one minute long.
• The British Board of Film Classification and the Cinema Advertising Authority have both cleared the advert for showing.
• Digital Cinema Media (DCM) handles adverts for three major cinema chains: Odeon, Cineworld, and Vue cinemas.
• The Church of England (CoE) has threatened legal action over the banning of the ad.

Sources:

• Press Association
• The Guardian (online), 12 December 2015
• Digital Cinema Media (totalcinemaonline.com)
• Church of England
• British Board of Film Classification