The management of the Liberty Theatre has heavily criticised the “hate speech” presentation which infuriated large sections of the community on Saturday.

Brian Durham, co-manager of the theatre, said he and colleagues had been promised the show from Washington speaker Ayo Kimathi would be an educational lecture about black history.

However, Mr Kimathi went on to denounce homosexuals and interracial marriage in a performance which has been derided by many, including community minister Patricia Gordon-Pamplin, as hate speech.

Mr Durham told The Royal Gazette today: “We rented out our theatre to an organisation who said they wanted to talk about black history and the effects on religion.

“We had no idea of the content of this speech. We deeply regret that they upset people. We definitely do not believe in the beliefs that were expressed during the talk regarding homosexuality or interracial marriage. We had no idea they were going to be talking in that way.”

A poster for the event had carried the banner: “African History and Culture Come Alive.”

• On occasion The Royal Gazette may decide to not allow comments on what we consider to be a controversial or contentious story. As we are legally liable for any slanderous or defamatory comments made on our website, this move is for our protection as well as that of our readers.