Find an MP By postcode or place: Or browse the map How to use Aristotle Bid to outlaw corporate killing faces axe Magistrates' jailing powers to be slashed Former youth justice chief attacks rule change on restraint New ex-Muslim group speaks out Media anger at U-turn over family courts New EU states migration limit could be lifted Reid cites Life of Brian over Rushdie award Knickers to your gong, lingerie tycoon tells 'morally corrupt' prime minister Right to roam costs rise to 52m The home secretary evoked Monty Python's Life of Brian yesterday to defend the government's decision to award a knighthood to Salman Rushdie, as demonstrations and clerical death threats continued in Asia. During a visit to New York, John Reid defended the award and said Britain had no intention of apologising for it. "A lot of people were upset when John Cleese made Life of Brian," he said, referring to the 1979 film directed by Terry Jones and written by the Monty Python team, which ended with a crucifixion singalong.
Others had been offended by Mel Gibson's 2004 film, The Passion of the Christ, he said. Get the day's top headlines straight to your mobile Sign up for the Backbencher Our free weekly insider's guide to Westminster What do you think? Email your comments for publication to politics.
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