Cineworld cancels The Lady of Heaven film screenings after protests

Cineworld has cancelled all UK screenings of a film about the daughter of the Prophet Muhammad, after it prompted protests outside some cinemas.

The cinema chain said it made the decision "to ensure the safety of our staff and customers".

More than 120,000 people have signed a petition for The Lady of Heaven film to be pulled from UK cinemas.

The Bolton Council of Mosques called the film "blasphemous" and sectarian.

But a House of Lords peer called the decision "disastrous for the arts [and] dangerous for free speech".

In an email to Cineworld, reported by the Bolton News, chairman Asif Patel said the film was "underpinned with a sectarian ideology" and "misrepresents orthodox historical narratives and disrespects the most esteemed individuals of Islamic history".

It came after more than 100 people protested against the film outside the cinema earlier this week, the newspaper reported.

The film's executive producer, Malik Shlibak, said he welcomed people expressing their views but said cinemas should "stand up and defend their right to show films that people want to see".

"I think cinemas are crumbling to the pressure, and taking these decisions to quell the noise," he told the Guardian.

A spokesperson for Cineworld said: "Due to recent incidents related to screenings of The Lady of Heaven, we have made the decision to cancel upcoming screenings of the film nationwide to ensure the safety of our staff and customers."

"Same 'I Find that Offensive' cancel culture arguments now being used far beyond campus activism. Disastrous for the arts, dangerous for free speech, a lesson to those who argue identity politics are no threat to democracy," she tweeted.