Sol Campbell turns skin white to encourage black vote in general election

Sol Campbell appears with a white face on posters for Operation Black Vote. Photograph: Rankin/Operation Black Vote/Saat/PA

Sol Campbell has turned his skin white in order to persuade black and Asian people to vote in the forthcoming general election.

The former Spurs and Arsenal centre-half appears in a campaign organised by Operation Black Vote alongside the Homeland actor David Harewood, rapper Tinie Tempah and paralympic athlete Ade Adepitan.

“I agreed to do the Operation Black Vote pictures because I wanted to highlight the problem with some sections of Britain who are not registering to vote for their future,” he said.

The Homeland actor David Harewood lends his weight to the campaign. Photograph: Rankin/Operation Black Vote/Saat/PA

Campbell appears on a poster warning: “If you don’t register to vote, you’re taking the colour out of Britain.”

The campaign urges black and Asian communities to use their votes on 7 May or their voices will not be heard. A survey of voters in the 2010 general election put the turnout rate for white voters at 67% but only 51% for non-white voters.

Harewood added: “If you want change, you have to vote for it. In order to vote, you have to register.

“We can’t continue to stand on sidelines of the British democratic system, we are a part of it and our voices matter.”