Agreement Advert May Be 'Illegal'

A radio advertisement promoting Northern Ireland's Hillsborough Agreement may have to be pulled from the airwaves in cases where stations have not obtained clearance.
The advert, launched and paid for by the Stormont Office of the First and Deputy First Ministers, has been criticised by other political parties.
The regulator, Ofcom, has begun an investigation after the TUV complained the advert breached advertising law.
Ofcom said broadcasters should not transmit the advert without clearance.
Under the Radio Advertising Standards Code, "special categories" of advertisements "must be cleared centrally" by the Radio Advertising Clearance Centre before they can be broadcast.
Such special categories include "political, industrial and public controversy matters" and government campaigns.
"In advance of any Ofcom decision on this advertisement, we have reminded the relevant broadcasters that, unless they have obtained central clearance for the advertisement before its transmission, they should not continue to broadcast the advertisement," a spokesman said.
The TUV leader, Jim Allister, complained that the advertising campaign was "a mere vanity stunt" on behalf of two largest parties in Northern Ireland, while the SDLP's Mark Durkan said the advert came "dangerously close" to electioneering on behalf of the DUP and Sinn Fein.
Ofcom said it would publish its final decision on the advert when it had completed its investigation.
(BMcC/GK)