Christmas CD banned for mentioning Jesus

More than 150 copies of the disc, featuring traditional and new festive songs, were donated to the hospital to help raise the spirits of children receiving care over the festive period.

But hospital managers refused to pass it on, saying it could offend those who were not of a Christian faith.

"We could not just hand out the CD," a hospital spokeswoman said. "If it went to every child it could cause offence to those who are not Christian."

The ban is being seen as the latest attempt to de-Christianise Christmas and was yesterday condemned by Bashir Maan, a prominent Muslim leader.

"If somebody doesn’t want to listen to this, they don’t have to. This is political correctness gone mad," he said. "It is going too far and it is going to be counterproductive.

"This is Christmas time and the overwhelming majority of the people in this country are Christians. If people want to celebrate then they should have the right, as should minority groups. But if the freedom is only one-sided, then the majority will be offended."

Last month, the Scottish Parliament banned traditional Christmas cards, fearing they might be offensive to other religions. Officials ruled that the words "Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year" must not appear on cards sent out by MSPs or staff, saying that the wording is not "socially inclusive".

Jane Butters, 57, from Edinburgh, recorded the CD - which features songs such as Jump Up Santa! - to raise money for Marie Curie Cancer Care.

She said: "To think that something as innocent as a Christmas CD could be considered offensive - I just can’t believe it. Ironically. they said it would be OK to hand out these CDs at their carol concert on Monday."

A hospital spokeswoman said: "We couldn’t just hand out this CD to everyone but if people chose to go to a carol service, they could pick one up there."