THE HAGUE, 19/12/08 - The UK's House of Lords will show Party for Freedom (PVV) leader Geert Willders' controversial Islam film Fitna. So says Wilders following the European Parliament's refusal to show the short film.

The EP on Wednesday rejected a request by the UK MEP Gerard Batten of the anti-European Independent Party to allow Fitna to be shown in Strasbourg to MEPs and journalists. Wilders called the ban "censorship" and compared the EP to Saudi Arabia.

Wilders has recently shown Fitna at meetings in Jerusalem and New York. He said the film will also be on view in the House of Lords in January. Wilders also said his inclination towards running in the EP elections next June with the VVD has been strengthened, with his agenda of abolishing the EP.

Christian democratic (CDA) MEP Maria Martens was pleased by the decision not to show Fitna in the EP. "The film has nothing to do with freedom of expression. This freedom does not give the right to offend." Conservative (VVD) MEP Jeanine Hennis-Plasschaert on the other hand called the banning of Fitna "unbelievably stupid" because the film "does fall within the boundaries of the law" and "Wilders has now got more publicity and attention than if he had been able to show his film."

According to Wilders, the EP decision came as a complete surprise. He said he did not know that the party leaders had already decided last March that Fitna could not be shown in the parliament building because the film in their view incites to hatred. This apparently happened on the initiative of MEP Hans Blokland of small Christian party ChristenUnie, which is part of the same party in the EP as Batten.