The Liberal Democrats have criticised the Mayor of London after adverts promoting tourism in Saudi Arabia appeared on the TfL network last month – despite the Mayor in 2019 having listed Saudi Arabia as one of several countries banned from advertising due to human rights concerns.
At the time, TfL stated that their advertising partners have been asked not to approve any new campaigns from states where being LGBTQ+ could result in the death penalty. Despite this, posters advertising ‘Visit Saudi Arabia’ (the state-owned Saudi tourism authority) were spotted at Canning Town Station last month, seemingly contradicting this policy.
When questioned by Liberal Democrat London Assembly Member and Transport Spokesperson Caroline Pidgeon earlier this summer over whether the policy was still in place, Sadiq Khan responded by stating that the policy was not in fact to ban, but a policy to refer to each advert by these states on a case-by-case basis.
The Liberal Democrats have called on TfL and the Mayor of London to come clean on whether or not they are still enforcing the policy.
Caroline Pidgeon said:
“It is a disgrace that TfL and the Mayor have seemingly let this policy lapse without informing anyone, or have decided that Saudi Arabia’s human rights record is now not of a concern.
“The Liberal Democrats strongly believe that advertising on Transport for London’s network should reflect London’s role as one of the world’s most diverse cities and reject placements from states who don’t share the same guiding principles.
“Authoritarian states that hold the death penalty for members of the LGBTQ+ community simply for being who they are, among other serious human rights concerns, have no place promoting themselves on TfL property.
“The Mayor and TfL must come clean on whether they are still applying their previous policy and if they are they must ensure it is actually being enforced without inconsistency."