ENGAGE Exclusive: Trago Mills advert openly promotes anti-Muslim Prejudice

This horrendous advert entitled, ‘for any cash strapped Moslems reading this…’, which purports to offer advice on how British Muslims might make extra cash by exploiting the benefits system through polygamy, appeared on a page advert taken out by Trago Mills in the Falmouth Packet newspaper.

Trago Mills, a shopping centre in south west England, has regularly included editorials in its advertisements and this current one from David Challice, chairman of the Exeter Branch of the UK Independence Party and a UKIP candidate in the 2005 local elections, is no exception. You can view the whole advert here.

The Advertising Standards Agency (ASA) upheld a complaint against Trago Mills in 1998 over an editorial on its advert page which referred to homosexuals as “poofters” and said the young should be protected from “this foul minority”.

While a further complaint lodged in July 2006 on a piece entitled ‘Immigrants Not Brits Must Adapt’ was rejected with the company arguing that out of a potential readership of a million, only one complaint was lodged with the ASA.

Let’s hope with this current scandalous contribution the ASA receives far more complaints and that it is compelled to act against this openly racist, bigoted company which uses advertising space to incite hatred.

You can write to the Falmouth Packet at [email protected] and to the ASA via its online complaint form here.

Update: See also the coverage of this story on ITV West Country News