The hard hitting campaign stars Olivia Colman and Adrian Lester and will be shown in cinemas after it was rejected for TV

Amnesty International UK has slammed the advertising approval agency Clearcast for preventing it from screening adverts on human rights issues.

The NGO had sought permission to broadcast an advert purporting to be a trailer for a supposed new drama starring award-winning actors Olivia Colman and Adrian Lester.

The trailer tells the story of Anna, a young mother with her newborn baby Grace. After being homeless and placed in black mould-infested housing by the local authorities, Anna’s daughter’s health rapidly deteriorates leading to her tragic death. 

Earlier this month, Clearcast - the advertising clearance agency with responsibility for deciding which adverts can be carried by broadcasters in the UK - wrote to Amnesty saying it would not clear its adverts for transmission.

Though Amnesty continues to contest the Clearcast decision, from today the Colman/Lester film will be shown in cinemas and on display boards in train stations and the London Underground, and on street billboards across the country.

Sacha Deshmukh, Amnesty International UK’s chief executive, said: “Clearcast has made the wrong call in preventing us from advertising and we’d like them to reverse it.

“Blocking our ads when other rights based organisations such as Unicef, Oxfam and Save the Children are correctly allowed on air, that’s a form of censorship and Clearcast are themselves politicising these fundamental issues.

“Safe housing is not political, hunger is not political and basic human rights themselves are not political.

“This isn’t about party politics, it’s about the basic right to live a dignified life.

“We simply don’t accept a biased decision to censor Amnesty International’s right to communicate on TV and we feel this is too important to let stand.”

Clearcast has been asked for comment.