Sadiq Khan has been told to apologise for a “serious error of judgement” in allowing assisted suicide campaigners to advertise on the London Underground.
The ads, for campaign group Dignity in Dying, are part of a push on MPs to vote through Kim Leadbeater’s controversial assisted dying Bill ahead of its debate in the Commons later this week.
But in the wake of a series of spats over ads on the Underground – and ahead of an intensely controversial vote on Friday – the Mayor of London has been accused of making an “incomprehensible mistake”.
Alex Wilson, Reform UK’s sole London Assembly member, told GB News that letting the billboards run was “more evidence of double standards” from the Mayor.
Sadiq Khan has been told to apologise for allowing assisted dying campaigners to advertise on the London Underground
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He said: “Whatever anyone’s views on the issue of assisted suicide, this is yet more evidence of double standards from London’s two-tier Mayor, Sadiq Khan.
“This is not the first time Sadiq Khan’s Transport for London (TfL) has had issues with advertising practices. Following the 2016 Brexit referendum, an advert was allowed which promoted a ‘People’s Vote’, even though political advertising is prohibited.
“More recently, he permitted an advertisement featuring an Islamic preacher who had advocated for the abolition of homosexuality.
“It’s unacceptable that we have a Mayor who permits advertisements that promote extremists and assisted suicide while simultaneously prohibiting the promotion of cake.
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Reform UK’s Alex Wilson told GB News that letting the billboards run was ‘more evidence of double standards’ from the Mayor
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“The Mayor must immediately apologise for this serious error of judgement and take immediate action to remove the advertisement. London expects better.”
Lord Bailey, the Conservative peer who also has a seat at City Hall, told GB News: “These adverts put to bed the idea that TfL advertising guidelines are in any way consistent.
“I am deeply concerned about these adverts, and the message they send to those at railway stations struggling with their mental health, and have accordingly written to the TfL Commissioner Andy Lord to request these adverts are removed.
“In the run-up to the vote this was an incomprehensible mistake, and the Mayor must take responsibility for the wild inconsistencies in the TfL policy.”
Lord Bailey (right) said he was ‘deeply concerned’ about the ads, while Alex Wilson accused Khan of ‘double standards’
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TfL’s rules say that advertisements which reasonably promote non-party-political causes will not normally be disapproved.
And voting on the assisted dying Bill is set to be free and not whipped – which could explain its approval for use on the Underground.
The Mayor has distanced himself from the ads – a City Hall spokesman told GB News he has “no involvement in approving or deciding which ads run on the TfL network, and TfL’s policy reflects legal requirements”.
In 2023, Dignity in Dying spent almost £700,000 on campaigns and media – down from the year before, when it spent just under £760,000.
Wilson hit out at previous advertising controversies which have rocked Transport for London
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And though a Freedom of Information request from 2019 revealed that ad campaigns on TfL bear “no average cost”, it indicated that the transport body’s “rate card value” for advertising the People’s Vote was worth tens of thousands of pounds.
A TfL spokesman told GB News: “We reviewed this advertising campaign against both our advertising policy and the Committee of Advertising Practice (CAP) code, and it was found to be compliant.”
GB News has approached Dignity in Dying for comment.
