THE HYDRO has cancelled a show by the controversial US evangelical preacher Franklin Graham.

Venue bosses were left with little choice but to ditch the event after the city council, their majority shareholder, called for it to be abandoned.

Susan Aitken, the leader of the local authority said allowing Graham to go ahead could break the law.

The SNP councillor said: “I hope the SEC board can accept the view of the council, as the majority shareholder, that it would not be appropriate for this event to go ahead.

“The reporting of the ways in which Mr Graham expresses his views makes clear that this is not simply about offence or disagreement. Neither is it a debate about free speech.

“How he expresses his views could, I believe, fundamentally breach the council’s statutory equalities duties.”

It's understood council bosses had also expressed fears over the damage done to the city's reputation.

A spokeswoman for the Hydro said: “The booking for this event was processed in the same way we would for any religious concert of this nature and as a business we remain impartial to the individual beliefs of both our clients and visitors.  

“However, we are aware of the recent adverse publicity surrounding this tour and have reviewed this with our partners and stakeholders.  Following a request from our principal shareholder the matter has been considered and a decision made that we should not host this event.”

His eight day tour of the UK was due to start in Glasgow in May.

Already, his date at the ACC Liverpool was cancelled after the venue said his views were “incompatible with our values”.

Much of the anger towards, Graham, son of the Rev. Billy Graham, comes from past comments about gay rights, Islam, and his support for Trump, despite the President's adultery.

In 2016, he accused LGBT activists of “trying to cram down America’s throat the lie that homosexuality is OK”, and said anti-discrimination laws in the US would mean that “your children, and your grandchildren will be at risk to sexual predators and perverts”.

Last year he criticised presidential candidate Pete Buttigieg for being a self-described gay Christian.

He stated that the Bible defines homosexuality as “something to be repentant of, not something to be flaunted, praised or politicised.”

Graham has condemned the effort to bar him from speaking. He told Newsweek magazine: "For some time I have been planning to come and preach the Gospel in eight cities across the UK in 2020," he said. "Hundreds of churches are working with the Graham Tour UK and praying for these events."

"Some people have said I am going to bring hateful speech to the UK, but this couldn't be further from the truth," he asserted. "I'm coming to the UK to speak about God's love through His Son Jesus Christ. Jesus didn't come to condemn the world–He came to save it. The Gospel is timeless, and Bible-believing Christians in the UK have proclaimed it for centuries."

He said the venues cancelling the tour were making a discriminatory decision which "disadvantages Christians."

More than 8000 people have signed a petition calling for the O2 in London to ditch his show there, though there seems to be some confusion over whether it's going ahead, with the venue claiming that nothing has ever been booked in.