by Jenni Horn

An advert featuring Kingsnorth Power Station daubed with a paint has been at the centre of a legal row.

The photo of the chimney with the word ‘Gordon’ written on the side was taken during a Greenpeace protest in 2007.

Six demonstrators climbed the smoke stack in Hoowhen they broke into the power station in opposition to plans to build two new coal units. Their intention was to write ‘Gordon Bin in’ but they only managed to write the first word before being forced down by a court injunction.

The picture featured in an advert on the Greenpeace website which prompted a complaint from a member of the public because they felt it encouraged consumers to sponsor an illegal activity and encouraged and condoned anti-social behaviour.

The ad included the words "Chimneys, they’re a bit dull aren’t they? We prefer them when they have statements written down them, like ‘no new coal’ or ‘stupid’, which say what we think about them.

It went on to request donations to help Greenpeace take direct action against climate change.

The Advertising Standards Agency (ASA) upheld the complaint and ruled the ad must not appear again.

In a statement the ASA said "Although we considered that the claims themselves were unlikely to influence the public to engage in such exploits themselves, we considered that the claim "£80 Send this Gift. How this gift works ..." sought donations in order to make it possible to finance similar direct action by others and thereby encouraged such behaviour."

The Greenpeace demonstrators were found not guilty of criminal damage at Maidstone Crown Court in 2008.

Defending the ad, Greenpeace said they did not promote anti-social behaviour and their actions came from deeply held values, which they believed were for the good of society.