An “ex-gay” group that hosted an event in Bermuda aimed at “saving” homosexuals has been forced to cancel an upcoming convention in London after a public outcry.

The Coming Out Ministries, hosted by self-proclaimed “ex-gays” who found “redemption, victory, healing and freedom from homosexuality”, was due to host their weeklong Holy Sexuality Conference at the Adventist Centre in Watford, London but the church cancelled after a petition on change.org attracted 33,000 signatures calling for the event hosts’ visas to be declined.

Coming Out Ministries endorses “gay cure” therapy, which the World Health Organisation has branded damaging to a person’s physical and mental well-being.

A spokesman from the Adventists Centre said that the church now realised the event, planned to take place from April 21 to 25, “had the potential to divide”.

He added: “Seventh-day Adventists are a people of peace who believe in hope and dialogue. However, it appeared that rather than drawing people together, the conference had the potential to divide. The Adventist Church recognises that the individuals invited to speak at the Holy Sexuality Conference have compelling life stories to share but equally appreciate that there are those who take a different point of view.

“We are disappointed that in a society that values freedom of speech and divergence of opinion that there are those whose wish it is to silence individuals who hold a different point of view to their own.

“We do not believe that the potential disruptions that were being planned for this event would have been beneficial either to the participants or to our friends in the LGBT community. As such, a decision has been made to cancel the event which had been locally organised by a group of members in the South London area.”

Coming Out Ministries hosted a weeklong event in Bermuda in January at the invitation of the Southampton Seventh-day Adventist Church.

There was some opposition locally to the event being held here including members of the lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBTQ) community.

Equal rights organisation The Rainbow Alliance said at the time that such groups promoted “hurtful, exploitative, alienating and other ideas about the LGBTQ community that are harmful for impressionable children, teenagers and young adults who are indoctrined from a young age to believe that LGBTQ identities are dangerous”.

Pastor DeJaun Tull of the Southampton Seventh-day Adventist Church would not comment specifically on the situation in London but sent this newspaper the “official statement of the Seventh-day Adventists. Part of that read: “Jesus affirmed the dignity of all human beings and reached out compassionately to persons and families suffering the consequences of sin.

“He offered caring ministry and words of solace to struggling people, while differentiating His love for sinners from His clear teaching about sinful practices. As His disciples, Seventh-day Adventists endeavour to follow the Lord’s instruction and example, living a life of Christ-like compassion and faithfulness.”