BBC complained after clips of its political editor used in election campaign without permission

This article is more than 9 months old

This article is more than 9 months old

Facebook has banned a Conservative party campaign advert that used footage of the BBC’s political editor Laura Kuenssberg and News at 10 host Huw Edwards, saying it violated the corporation’s intellectual property rights.

The clips, which were used without permission from the BBC, featured Kuenssberg saying the words “pointless delay to Brexit”, though she in fact appears to have been quoting Boris Johnson. Edwards is then shown talking about “another Brexit delay” followed by shaky footage of opposition leaders set to threatening music.

On Sunday evening Huw Edwards praised the move by Facebook to ban the advert. He tweeted: “Good. My thoughts on this kind of stunt are unprintable”. A BBC spokesperson also said the corporation “welcomed the decision”.

Facebook Twitter Pinterest The BBC has asked the Conservatives to remove online adverts that use edited versions of its content. Photograph: Conservative Party/PA

On Thursday the BBC demanded that the paid-for advert, which targets older male voters, be taken down. “ This is a completely unacceptable use of BBC content which distorts our output and which could damage perceptions of our impartiality,” they said.

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However, the Tories rejected the BBC’s request, saying it was “clear the footage was not edited in a manner that misleads or changes the reporting”.

In a statement on Sunday, Facebook said: “We have removed this content following a valid intellectual property claim from the rights holder, the BBC. Whenever we receive valid IP claims against content on the platform, in advertising or elsewhere, we act in accordance with our policies and take action as required.”

The advert ban came as the Conservatives face rising criticism for several controversial tactics used in this election campaign. During a televised election debate between Boris Johnson and Jeremy Corbyn in November their press office temporarily rebranded on Twitter as a fact checker.