Rowan Atkinson

London, Dec. 6 (Reuters): British comedian Rowan Atkinson ? creator of the hapless ?Mr Bean? ? attacked a planned law outlawing incitement of religious hatred today, saying it would curb free speech and humour.

Atkinson believes the measure now passing through parliament will make religion virtually off-limits to satirists.

It might even, he fears, lead to prosecutions, not only for some of his own sketches but for others like Monty Python?s Life of Brian, which was criticised on its release in 1979 for being anti-Christian. ?Freedom of expression must be protected for artists and entertainers,? he said. ?We must not accept a bar on the lampooning of religion,? he said.