The screening of a film that was banned in a different venue previously will not be going ahead after over 100 tickets were sold.

The film, which is about Jeremy Corbyn, was ‘censored’ at one Harraby Community Centre initially.

A small group of Labour members had sought a screening of the film in Carlisle for a while, but have since been met with ‘censorship of the highest order’, according to Peter Doyle, a Labour member in the Carlisle area.

He said the film was censored because of political bias within the Harraby Community Centre’s committee.

Since then, the group attempting to get the film screened said that The Old Fire Station in Carlisle will screen it, and sold ‘well over 100’ tickets to the event which was set for this Saturday (May 13).

Titled ‘Oh Jeremy Corbyn: The Big Lie’, tickets for it were being sold for £4 for waged people and £2 for unwaged.

However, the group has been met with further disappointment, as the Old Fire Station said yesterday (May 9) they will not be screening the film.

Karen Lockney, former Labour councillor on Cumbria County Council, who is seeking a third venue for this to be screened, said: “The manager sent an email last week asking questions about what qualifies us to run a discussion afterwards and about ticket sales.

“They said if we don’t sell over 100 it will be embarrassing, but we sold well over 100 because the previous News and Star story really drove ticket sales.

“We replied with all this information and this morning (May 9) got an email saying “After reviewing the info you’ve sent over, I’m afraid we can’t move forward with your event, apologies for any inconvenience caused.”

“We ran it in Newcastle last Sunday and there were no problems, we told the Old Fire Station this, and it’s a Tuesday morning they’re sending this and we’ve sold over 100 tickets for the Saturday evening.

“There are serious problems with censorship of free speech in Carlisle, two venues have cancelled an event with short notice, what are they afraid of?

“At a time when we’ve seen a local group ascribing to a far-right agenda marching through the city centre, a city that previously hosted Tommy Robinson, and a group of locals aren’t able to show a film at a local community centre about the previous Labour leader, it shows we’re living in dark and dangerous times.

“I think we have to strongly suspect there’s a political motivation or some similar ulterior motive that has made a similar venue renege on a commitment that had been made in good faith.”

Will Morgan, owner of the Old Fire Station, said: “It was never formally booked in, it was never advertised on our website.

“Like all things, when I’m approached I’ll talk it over the phone and say yes on principle, subject to looking into it and making sure everything’s above board.

“I sent them various bits of information and they came back with some that I wasn’t really asking for, and on the back of that I couldn’t really go ahead with it.”

Will said the event is not ‘cancelled’ as it was never agreed formally to be put on, and the decision to not screen it has ‘nothing to do with the film or why the community centre cancelled’ the screening.

“We’re a private business, and that’s it.”

He concluded: “It’s not political, we’re an absolutely apolitical venue, we do all sorts of different things, I’m just not comfortable putting it on.”