The Billy Graham Evangelistic Association has been awarded a financial settlement and received a public apology from a British council that censored the Christian group’s ads.
Along with issuing an apology last week for pulling the ads because they opposed the evangelical group’s conservative views on LGBT issues, the Blackpool Council in Lancashire also agreed to pay damages of over $150,200.
Councillor Lynn Williams, head of the Blackpool Council, explained in the apology that the council accepts “that the advertisements were not in themselves offensive” and that removing the ads would be seen as offensive to others.
Williams also stated that the local government has “now introduced clear and transparent policies that will ensure no repeat of events such as these.”

In a statement Franklin Graham said, “This is an important moment for religious freedom in the U.K.. We’re grateful to God for the final outcome of this case, and for what it will mean for churches and Christians across the U.K. in the years ahead.”
In 2018, Graham hosted a multiday evangelical revival event at Blackpool Winter Gardens called the “Lancashire Festival of Hope with Franklin Graham.”
The event garnered outcry from some locals, given Graham’s adherence to Christian sexual ethics, opposition to same-sex marriage, and comments about radical Islam.
In response, the Blackpool Council banned bus ads for the event.