Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:

To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, whether legislation prevents the depiction of firearms being fired by service personnel in television advertising for the armed forces.

Advertising on television is co-regulated by the Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) and Ofcom, independently of the Government. The Broadcast Committee of Advertising Practice (BCAP), an organisation independent of government and a sister organisation to the ASA, sets the standards for advertising on TV through the UK Code of Broadcast Advertising (‘BCAP Code’).

While the Advertising Codes do not contain specific provisions prohibiting a TV ad from featuring a firearm being fired in the context of the armed forces, they do contain rules regarding depictions of weapons and violence. Advertisers should ensure that their ads are prepared with a sense of responsibility to consumers and to society, and should not contain anything that encourages or condones anti-social behaviour or violence. Advertisers should also be aware that images of weapons and implied violence are likely to offend some consumers.