A British-based Christian broadcaster has been fined €6,000 for homophobic remarks made on a breakfast show last year.
Revelation TV, which broadcasts in Spain via satellite, was handed the penalty by the Spanish National Commission of Markets and Competition (CNMC).
The comments on the Rmornings discussion show 'could be considered as threatening to the dignity of the homosexual and transgender group, although there was no manifest incitation to hate against these groups by the channel that owns the programme', the official CNMC statement said.
However Gordon Pettie, director of Revelation TV, told Christian Today an appeal against the decision had been lodged and he was disappointed the fine had been implemented before the appeal was heard.
He told Christian Today the discussion was 'absolutely not' homophobic and instead were just expressing a biblical view. He added a lawyer had told him that if they were judged to be homophobic then the Spanish authorities would have to fine every Catholic Church in Spain on the same charge.
'We believe by the time the process is finished the fine won't apply and we won't be found to be homophobic,' he said.
'We would say as a television station that we seek to stand up for biblical views. All we did was say what the scripture had to say.'
The particular remarks were made in a discussion over transgender children after a Christian family removed their child from school because one of his classmates identified as trans.
The pastor said on the show: 'We are going to create a political party or join a party to change this madness. We are going to have to do this, because if we don't, we will have Sodom and Gomorrah at our doorsteps, where they are going to tell you: we want to get hold of those men in there and we want to sleep with them and there's nothing you can do about it. I have girls for you... No, we want those guys. And because it has become aggressive, it has become heavy, and if we don't confront this militancy it is going to get worse, it is going to get really bad.'
He added: 'The problem is that these guys are carrying out what I call social engineering. They´re coming with ideas of their own, in order to lead society in a particular direction. But we must not allow that to happen. Let the child grow up naturally and when they are old enough let them decide what they want to do. At 18, they will decide whatever they want to do, having the freedom to do so. But starting to teach an idea that is not natural at school... because all these ideas are not the natural way of things, it is not what the Bible says, it is not natural biologically. I don't know who encourages it and how we can stop it, it shouldn't happen.
'But we need to understand that the people behind this agenda are not foolish, they know exactly what they are doing, they know that, at that age, the child doesn't have a clue what is going on, so if they can manage to manipulate those kids to believe that this is what is natural, that will stick to the children. They like to get hold of a generation ahead of time, so that when they finally are 20 or 25, the whole world has changed to exactly where they want to be with that agenda.'
Revelation TV is facing an ongoing Charity Commission investigation in the UK over allegations it was being used for private advantage.
The Charity Commission appointed an interim manager in 2015 as 'a temporary and protective measure' following the complaints. Revelation TV is being investigated 'in relation to the production and broadcasting of television programmes from Spain as well as the trustees' decisions to transfer significant charitable assets and funds from the UK to Spain', the Commission said.
