Archived press release

FOE slams "incompetent" ASA over Newbury advert

7 August 1996

Friends of the Earth (FOE) reacted angrily today to the Advertising Standards Authority's (ASA) call for it to withdraw statements that the Newbury bypass would "make little difference to most journey times" in the town [1].

Friends of the Earth will stand by its evidence which is based on Highways Agency data and has published its advertisement on the Internet [2].

Friends of the Earth's decision was made as a result of serious deficiencies in the way the ASA investigated a complaint about a FOE advertisement [3].

Charles Secrett, Executive Director of Friends of the Earth said:

"We're fed up with dealing with the ASA's bumbling amateurish treatment of complex environmental issues. If they can't pay for the independent expertise necessary for good judgement in these difficult cases, they should stick to examining claims about cat food and soap powders".

Friends of the Earth also vowed to ignore the ASA's call for it not to repeat the claim that: "the Midlands to Southampton railway line can be upgraded to take many of the freight vehicles that drive through Newbury for 30-50 million".

ENDS

NOTES TO EDITORS:

[1] The statement was made in an advertisement in the Times of 6 March. The ASA has today published its ruling on Complaint A96-0815/jma over the FOE advertisement.

[2] Faxed copies of the FOE advertisement can be obtained from Claudia Rawlinson on 020 7566 1663. Friends of the Earth's world wide web site can be accessed at:

/action/newbury/timesad.html

[3] On 31 May, following initial consideration of FOE's evidence by the ASA, FOE had rung the responsible ASA officer to discuss submitting further evidence. The ASA officer freely admitted that she'd found the issues addressed in the FOE advertisement "complicated and confusing". After consultation within the ASA, she rang back to say that the ASA would accept further evidence and that the complaint was unlikely to be heard before 10 July.

Friends of the Earth submitted further evidence on 20 June only to receive a letter dated 24 June saying the ASA had already ruled on the complaint.

Friends of the Earth's evidence had quoted Highway's Agency reports showing that:

1. only a small proportion of the vehicles travelling in and around Newbury would use the bypass;

2. "for the majority of traffic [using the bypass] the time savings to individual vehicles will be relatively small" .

3. the maximum time saving vehicles making other trips in and around Newbury could achieve would be eight minutes but that "few trips would benefit from such time savings"

[4] In respect of FOE's claim that "the Midlands to Southampton railway line can be upgraded to take many of the freight vehicles that drive through Newbury", FOE had provided the ASA with details of a professional consultant who had studied the railway and who would support the claim, but the ASA declined to contact the consultant.

If you're a journalist looking for press information please contact the Friends of the Earth media team on 020 7566 1649.

Published by Friends of the Earth Trust