Chrstian Adverts

The banning of a London bus advert suggesting people could get over homosexuality should be investigated, the appeal court has ruled.

Christian charity The Core Issues Trust accused mayor Boris Johnson of unlawfully using his position as chairman of Transport for London to obtain the ban to secure the gay vote.

The High Court had upheld the ban. But the Court of Appeal has now ruled a probe is needed to consider whether the mayor acted for an improper purpose .

The posters produced by the Christian charity reading Not Gay! Ex-Gay, Post-Gay and Proud. Get over it! were designed in response to adverts by gay rights group Stonewall, which said Some people are gay. Get over it! . Reveal all emails

Ruling on the charity's appeal, the Master of the Rolls Lord Dyson said evidence had been produced of an email which unequivocally states that the mayor 'instructed' TfL to pull the advertisement just before the 2012 mayoral elections. He said the need for examination of the role of the mayor was even greater because the email sent on 12 April 2012 shows that the mayor's office contacted the Guardian (newspaper) immediately, apparently in order to make political capital out of the story . Arrangements had also been made for the mayor to appear the following day at a hustings organised by Stonewall.

The judge said: This is a most unsatisfactory state of affairs.

A radio advert calling on Christians who feel marginalised at work to report their troubles was rightly banned, the Court of Appeal has ruled.

The proposed advert, a 30-second recording for Premier Christian Radio was intended to urge listeners to report their experiences of being marginalised. The advert script was as follows:

Surveys have shown that over 60% of active Christians consider that Christians are being increasingly marginalised in the workplace. We are concerned to get the most accurate data to inform the public debate. We will then use this data to help make a fairer society. Please visit CCPmagazines.co.uk and report your experiences.

Premier Christian Radio's chief executive Peter Kerridge described the decision as an:

Attack on freedom of speech and a bad day for democracy in general. The wording of the advert did not seek to achieve a political end, it had no political message and there was no attempt to influence the listener to a particular viewpoint, so there appears to be no good reason to ban it.

Naturally we are disappointed with the judgment but will now consider further options which may be available to us with our legal representatives.

The advert was banned by the Radio Advertising Clearance Centre, who said it was directed to a political end , and broadcasting it would infringe provisions of the 2003 Communications Act that ban political advertising. In April last year a High Court judge in London ruled that it was lawfully banned.

Now a  Court of Appeal challenge against the earlier judgment was  dismissed in a two-to-one majority ruling of senior judges.

A spokesman for the Department for Culture, Media and Sport said:

The courts have upheld the UK's long-standing ban on political advertising, which is a vitally important principle in our country and at the heart of British broadcasting.