A judge declares a Christian radio ad to be political and hence correctly banned.
The proposed 30-second advert for Premier Christian Radio called on listeners to report their experiences of being marginalised in the workplace. It was blocked by the Radio Advertising Clearance Centre (RACC), because it was directed to a political end.
London Christian Radio Ltd, which runs Premier, a national station, won a judicial review to challenge the ruling, describing the advert as about the most inoffensive proposed ad one could hope to get.
James Dingemans QC argued that if the advert was in breach of the 2003 Communications Act, which banned political advertising, then the relevant sections of the Act should be declared incompatible with Article 10 of the European Convention on Human Rights, which protects freedom of expression.
However, Mr Justice Silber, sitting in London, ruled that Article 10 had not been breached and that the RACC decision was both rational and lawful. He declared the ad to be political as it was intended to obtain information in a bid to try to make changes to society.
Peter Kerridge, chief executive of London Christian Radio and the Premier media group, described the ruling as wholly reminiscent of a totalitarian state and said an application would be made to appeal to the Court of Appeal.
