UK government’s ‘Go home’ ad campaign in racially mixed areas challenged in court

A government advertising campaign for racially mixed areas in the UK, with mobile billboards warning illegal immigrants to "go home or face arrest" is facing a court challenge.

Vans displaying the short message had been driven around six boroughs with high numbers of immigrants that formed part of a pilot scheme, had led to a coalition split. The campaign had been described by Nigel Farage, the Ukip leader, as "nasty". UKip or the UK Independence Party founded in 1993, is a right wing political party.

The Refugee and Migrant Forum of East London (Ramfel) held "an emergency tension-monitoring" meeting with Home Office officials on Friday afternoon following complaints about the intimidatory tone of the message.

According to Rita Chadha, from the group, it had sent a "letter before claim" to the Home Office warning that the initiative had created "a sense of apprehension, tension and confusion" among her clients.

The move was launched on Monday by the immigration minister Mark Harper. The campaign has been widely seen as a 'tough on immigration' stance by Conservative ministers to counter the increasing support for Ukip.

However, the initiative has led to a barrage of complaints from clergymen, MPs and their constituents. According to bishop Patrick Lynch, who oversees the Catholic Bishops' Conference, the mobile billboard campaign was a very inappropriate way to discourage illegal immigrants from staying in the UK, not least because the message that was often received was that all immigrants and foreigners were unwelcome in the UK.

Downing Street though insisted yesterday that the messages were a success, despite a bitter Coalition row over the controversial trials.

According to the PM's official spokesman, the pilot was already working. There had been a good deal of interest, he added.

Each enforced deportation cost the taxpayer £15,000 as against the average cost of a voluntary return at £739.

The month-long trial across six London boroughs - dubbed `Operation Vaken' would run for another three weeks after ''hundreds'' of immigrants got in touch with the Home Office and expressed their willingness to go home, according to a Whitehall source.

According to commentators, it came as a major blow for senior Liberal Democrats, Nick Clegg and Vince Cable, who had attacked the vans as ''stupid and offensive''.