City lifts ban on Life of Brian

Councillors in Glasgow have lifted an unofficial 30-year-old ban on the Monty Python film The Life of Brian.

The council's licensing and regulatory committee approved a request on Tuesday from Glasgow Film Theatre to show the biblical satire under a 15 certificate.

Glasgow was one of 39 local authorities in the UK that refused to grant the film a general release in 1979.

Opponents said the film, about a Jewish man who is mistaken for the Messiah and crucified, was blasphemous.

Councillor Willie O'Rourke, vice convener of the licensing and regulatory committee, said: "This is the first application we've received to show Monty Python's Life of Brian since the first request.

"Life of Brian has been broadcast on television over the years and is now widely available on DVD.

"The world, and people's attitudes, have moved on in the last 30 years, so I believe the committee made the right decision today."

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