A London council has been criticised for putting posters telling European residents “this is your home” on the sides of rubbish trucks.
Tower Hamlets council has placed posters around the borough encouraging its 41,000 residents from the European Union to secure their right to stay after Brexit, however it has been suggested that the message could be misconstrued.
Comedian Milo Edwards spotted one of the posters on the side of a bin lorry, tweeting:
now, call me crazy, but maybe the garbage trucks weren’t the best place for the “eu citizens, this is your home!” ads pic.twitter.com/oH71Ln8sNB
— milo edwards (@Milo_Edwards) February 21, 2019
In response, Conservative councillor Peter Golds claimed that the party’s local group “were saying exactly that when we first saw the trucks” and had sought information as to the cost of the adverts to the Labour-run council in east London.
Edwards replied: “Ah yes, the Tories, a party that famously *checks notes* loves immigrants.”
One Twitter user wrote in reference to the placement of the advert: “It’s precisely the right place. It ties in with the subliminal message as to what the government’s promises to EU nationals are regarding their status and how welcome they are: garbage.”
Tower Hamlets council responded to Edwards’ tweet and defended the campaign. “This campaign has been well received by our many EU residents. We can use our bin lorries and street panels to promote these messages at a fraction of the cost of expensive commercial billboards - saving taxpayers’ money.”
A spokesperson for Tower Hamlets council added: “Our ‘this is your home too’ campaign has been running since January and has had a very positive reception from partner organisations, groups representing EU citizens and most importantly, our residents.
“As a council, we are proud to be on the side of the 41,000 EU residents of our borough who are facing the uncertainty of Brexit.”
The 3 Million, a campaign group representing the interests of EU citizens in the UK, was supportive of the council, tweeting that Tower Hamlets “has been at the forefront of supporting EU citizens”.
It continued: “We wished other councils would take similar steps of informing EU citizens - no matter where they advertise as long as it is visible. Central government has provided little support to councils.”
