Anti-gay buses stopped

London Mayor Boris Johnson has stopped a Christian advertising campaign set to appear on London buses to promote the idea that gay people can  convert to heterosexuality.

The Guardian newspaper reports the advertising campaign (which said, “Not gay! Post-gay, ex-gay and proud. Get over it!”) was booked by two conservative Anglican groups.

Johnson is said to have pulled the advertising campaign days before it was  due to appear following a backlash from gay rights advocates in the UK.

“London is one of the most tolerant cities in the world and intolerant of intolerance. It is clearly offensive to suggest that being gay is an illness that someone recovers from and I am not prepared to have that suggestion driven around London on our buses,” Johnson told the newspaper.

The advertisements were booked on behalf of Christian group the Core Issues Trust and are likely to be taking a swipe at a similar anti-homophobia advertisement (commissioned by gay rights group Stonewall) which featured on London buses recently. The Stonewall campaign featured advertisements which said, “Some people are gay. Get over it.”

The Core Issues Trust campaign was due to run for two weeks on several bus routes, including buses running on popular tourist destinations.

Johnson, who is currently campaigning for re-election, was criticised by rival candidate Ken Livingstone who said Johnson should not have allowed the advertisements to be booked in the first place.