Green campaign group exaggerated airport opposition

The Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) has ruled that green campaign groups issued a 'misleading' national press ad regarding the amount of opposition to airport expansion.

Complaints about a full page ad taken out by AirportWatch and enoughsenough have been upheld by the ASA, ruling that it breached the Code of Advertising Practice and should not be repeated.

The ads featured a picture of Prime Minister Gordon Brown and claimed that 60 per cent of people in an ICM Poll had said no to airport expansion anywhere in the UK.

However, the advertising regulator said that the figures used for aviation emissions were likely to mislead as they were based on the campaigners' own emissions calculations, as opposed to official data.

Clive Soley, campaign director of Future Heathrow, whose members include bmi and British Airways, said: "The adjudication is very serious. It shows that these groups who represent some of the most vocal campaigning organisations against plans for Heathrow's sustainable expansion, have used polls and data to mislead the public.

"The public should be aware that some of their advertising is misleading and they should look at it with care."

© Adfero Ltd