A decision to ban from London buses a Christian group’s advert implying that gay people could be converted to heterosexuality did not break the law, the High Court ruled on Friday.
London mayor Boris Johnson was also absolved of abusing his position as the chairman of Transport for London (TfL) over the imposition of the ban.
The posters earmarked for the capital’s buses read: “Not Gay! Ex-Gay, Post-Gay and Proud. Get over it!”
The campaign was meant to be a response to a gay rights group Stonewall poster: “Some people are gay. Get over it!”
The court ruled that though TfL’s procedure for introducing the ban “was procedurally unfair,” the advert would have caused “grave offence” and increased the risk of prejudice and homophobic attacks.
Tfl was taken to court by Christian charity Core Issues Trust, which contested the ban saying that the mayor’s decision was “politically driven” as it was imposed close to last year’s London mayoral elections.
A TfL spokesman said: “The advertisement clearly breached our advertising policy as it contained a controversial message and was likely to cause widespread offence to the public.
“This was borne out by the hugely negative public reaction the advertisement generated, including on social media and newspaper websites.
“We are taking steps to address the judge’s comments regarding our internal processes.”
Core Issues was given permission to contest the decision in the Court of Appeal. The charity’s lawyer Paul Diamond said it had only “utter respect for people struggling with same-sex attraction”.
Ban on London 'ex-gay' bus advert did not break law
