A controversial American evangelist’s visit to Liverpool has been cancelled.
Franklin Graham, son of the late preacher Billy Graham, had been due to give a talk at the city’s ACC conference hall on June 12 as part of a UK tour.
But a statement from the King’s Dock venue confirmed on Thursday that it would not be fulfilling the event due to Graham’s repeated anti-LGBT+ views.
The 67-year-old, an ally of Donald Trump, has described gay marriage as ‘a sin’ on numerous occasions.
“Over the past few days we have been made aware of a number of statements which we consider to be incompatible with our values,” said an ACC spokesperson.
“In light of this we can no longer reconcile the balance between freedom of speech and the divisive impact this event is having in our city.
“We have informed the organisers of the event that the booking will no longer be fulfilled.
“We are proud to represent all communities and will continue to move forward with our aim as a business to drive profile, major events and economic impact for Liverpool City Region.”
Joe Anderson, the Mayor of Liverpool, welcomed the decision to deny Graham a platform to speak.
“Our city is a diverse city and proud of our LGBTQ+ community and always will be,” he wrote on Twitter.
“We can not allow hatred and intolerance to go unchallenged by anyone including by religious groups or sects.”
Over 8,000 people have signed a petition lobbying for the cancellation of Graham’s scheduled appearance at London’s O2 Arena on October 4.
LGBT+ groups also lobbied for his Sheffield date to be called off with the city’s Bishop Pete Wilcox saying in November that “Mr Graham’s rhetoric is repeatedly and unnecessarily inflammatory and in my opinion represents a risk to the social cohesion of our city.”
Despite insisting that he is not heading to the UK to preach hatred, Graham reaffirmed his religious beliefs on homosexuality in an open letter.
“The rub, I think, comes in whether God defines homosexuality as sin,” he wrote.
“The answer is yes. But God goes even further than that, to say that we are all sinners – myself included.
“The Bible says that every human being is guilty of sin and in need of forgiveness and cleansing. The penalty of sin is spiritual death – separation from God for eternity.”