The UK’s Advertising Standards Authority confirmed on Thursday that it would investigate the Home Office’s ‘Go Home’ van campaign targeted at illegal immigrants amid repeated complaints to the watchdog that it echoed racist slogans.
The regulator stated that some 60 complaints had been made about
the “Go Home or Face Arrest” billboard campaign by members
of the public who had voiced concern that the messages placed on
vans circling around the capital breached the UK advertising
standards code – and was both offensive and irresponsible.
Complaints stated they were “reminiscent of slogans used by
racist groups to attack immigrants in the past.”
Some members of the public also stated that the claim stamped
across the side of the van that “106 arrests last week made in
your area” was completely misleading.
"They've also challenged whether it is misleading because it
implies arrest is the automatic consequence of remaining in the
UK without permission,” said the ASA.
“We will publish our findings in due course.”
The vans bearing the billboards have been targeted at people
residing in the UK illegally. Vans carrying the billboards were
posted to drive through six London boroughs as part of a ‘pilot’
scheme. The Home Office has been debating whether to expand the
project nationwide, claiming it to have been successful in the
boroughs in which it had been tested for a week, for the first
time towards the end of July.
The scheme had been criticized by the Liberal Democrat party,
with its leader – Deputy Prime Minister Nick Clegg – stating that
the campaign is not a “clever” way to handle the concern
over illegal immigration. Civil rights campaign group Liberty has
also spoken out against it, with business secretary Vince Cable,
calling it “stupid” and “offensive.”
Human rights organizations fear that it could contribute to a
climate of fear and increased racial tensions.
“The Home Office is bound by a positive duty under the
Equality Act 2010 to eliminate discrimination, advance equality
of opportunity and foster good relations…this campaign will
generate hostility and intolerance in our communities,” said
Amnesty International in a letter published in The Guardian on
Thursday.
A crackdown on immigration in the UK has been on the rise since
the beginning of the year, with the introduction of a new
citizenship test which included many cultural questions, while
overlooking a lot of practical issues.
Hype in the British media and political rhetoric condemning
‘health tourism’ (an influx of foreigners wanting to use
Britain’s free National Health Service) has intensified
immigration fears, which were stoked after UK Independence Party
(UKIP) local election success in May: the party is notorious for
its hard line on the subject and other parties quickly followed
suit.
Predictions surfaced saying that hundreds of thousands of
Romanians and Bulgarians will come to the UK for work after
immigration restrictions are lifted at the end of the year,
giving rise to discussions about an ‘entry fee’ to the country.
In January, a potential ‘negative’ advertising campaign was also
discussed to dissuade potential immigrants from the countries
entering the UK.