Banksy withdraws “legally dubious” print offer after Electoral Commission warning

Banksy has cancelled his offer of a free print to people in six Bristol constituencies who vote against the Conservative Party in the General Election, after receiving a warning from the Electoral Commission that the offer would invalidate the election result.

On his website, under a message reading ‘Product recall’, the graffiti artist said: “So I regret to announce this ill-conceived and legally dubious promotion has now been cancelled.”

Voters in the six Bristol constituencies would have had to send Banksy a photo of their ballot paper as proof of their vote to receive "a souvenir piece".

Avon & Somerset Police said yesterday that it had received a number of complaints about Banksy’s offer and was investigating.

The police warned that it was “a criminal offence under the Representation of the People Act 1983 for any voter to accept or agree to accept a gift or similar in return for voting or refraining from voting.

"Any person participating in an offer to receive a gift is at risk of being prosecuted."

According to a report on The Guardian, a “lawyer’s note” attached to the original promotion had said: “This print is a souvenir piece of campaign material, it is in no way meant to influence the choices of the electorate, has no monetary value, is for amusement purposes only and is strictly not for resale. Terms and conditions to follow, postage not included.”