Hanif Kureishi's Weddings and Beheadings, a short story that was due to be read on Radio 4, has been dropped. It was "one of five nominations for the National Short Story prize due to be broadcast this week", reports The Guardian.

The BBC felt the timing "would not be right" due to the unconfirmed killing of British journalist Alan Johnston.

"An important criterion when deciding whether to transmit a particular story on a difficult subject is the timing of the transmission. We do not now feel that it would be right to broadcast at the moment. We will review this on a regular basis."

The redundant clause makes you suspicious, however. Kureishi said:

"There are journalists and newspapers in peril all the time around the world. We support them by supporting freedom of speech rather than by censoring ourselves."

The story describes "the work of a cameraman who films the executions of western captives in Iraq".

Thanks to 3 Quarks Daily for the heads-up.