Christian evangelists in Britain today began a High Court battle for the right to bring a private prosecution for blasphemy over Jerry Springer - The Opera.
Two judges were told the show was "an offensive, spiteful, systematic mockery and wilful denigration of Christian belief" - and a show no one would have dreamed of making about the prophet Muhammad and Islam.
Stephen Green, national director of the evangelical group Christian Voice, was seeking to overturn a refusal by a Magistrates' Court in January to issue a summons to start proceedings against the director-general of the BBC, Mark Thompson, who allowed the controversial show to be screened on BBC2.
Mr Green also wanted to issue a similar summons against the show's producer, Jonathan Thoday, who staged it at the Cambridge Theatre in London's West End and then in a nationwide tour.
Today Michael Gledhill QC, for Mr Green, argued the district magistrate judge erred in law in refusing to issue the summonses as the show had clearly "crossed the blasphemy threshold".
"This is not just about protecting the rights of a section of the Christian population. "It is about protecting the constitution of the nation which is built on the Christian faith," Mr Gledhill said.
Jerry Springer - The Operatreated the Christian faith "with contempt, reviling it by parodying Christian beliefs scurrilously and in the most ludicrous manner," he argued.
PA