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You can find the current article at its original source at https://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2018/may/18/london-activists-paper-over-advert-sky-show-bulletproof-violent-crime
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| Version 1 | Version 2 |
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| London activists paper over TV show poster of actors pointing guns | London activists paper over TV show poster of actors pointing guns |
| (14 days later) | |
| Two men have papered over a billboard in east London due to concerns that it glamorises violence at a time of rising crime in the capital, earning praise from the local MP and attracting criticism from the actors portrayed on the hoarding. | Two men have papered over a billboard in east London due to concerns that it glamorises violence at a time of rising crime in the capital, earning praise from the local MP and attracting criticism from the actors portrayed on the hoarding. |
| The poster for Sky’s police comedy Bulletproof features two gun-toting actors, one of whom is pointing his weapon as though he were about to enter combat. | The poster for Sky’s police comedy Bulletproof features two gun-toting actors, one of whom is pointing his weapon as though he were about to enter combat. |
| Richard Selby, an IT consultant, decided to act after he saw the billboard over a busy Walthamstow street when leaving a leisure centre with his eight-year-old son. | Richard Selby, an IT consultant, decided to act after he saw the billboard over a busy Walthamstow street when leaving a leisure centre with his eight-year-old son. |
| “It felt wrong to me,” he told the Guardian. “Especially in the light of the shootings and stabbings that we’ve endured all over London, but particularly in this area, so I thought I’d cover up the guns with something else.” | “It felt wrong to me,” he told the Guardian. “Especially in the light of the shootings and stabbings that we’ve endured all over London, but particularly in this area, so I thought I’d cover up the guns with something else.” |
| Selby enlisted the help of his friend Graham Clifford, a local headteacher, and plastered a cardboard carrot and hairdryer over the two handguns. | Selby enlisted the help of his friend Graham Clifford, a local headteacher, and plastered a cardboard carrot and hairdryer over the two handguns. |
| The poster provider, Primesight, subsequently covered it up with a blank canvas, prompting the two men to replaster the carrot and hairdryer. | The poster provider, Primesight, subsequently covered it up with a blank canvas, prompting the two men to replaster the carrot and hairdryer. |
| When asked whether he had any plans to cover other billboards, Selby said: “I don’t want this to be the start of a vigilante career where I spend my life dedicated to plastering on billboards. I have a life to resume. I think I’ve made the point.” | When asked whether he had any plans to cover other billboards, Selby said: “I don’t want this to be the start of a vigilante career where I spend my life dedicated to plastering on billboards. I have a life to resume. I think I’ve made the point.” |
| However, he intends to write #GunFreeAds across the canvas at the weekend in an attempt to crystallise the debate that has arisen. | However, he intends to write #GunFreeAds across the canvas at the weekend in an attempt to crystallise the debate that has arisen. |
| “The [London] mayor, Sadiq Khan, has been very vocal about putting a ban on advertising unhealthy food on tubes and buses and selling junk food near schools,” said Selby. | “The [London] mayor, Sadiq Khan, has been very vocal about putting a ban on advertising unhealthy food on tubes and buses and selling junk food near schools,” said Selby. |
| “I would say if we’re going down that line, shouldn’t we perhaps think about some guidelines for appropriate advertising when it comes to violence and weapons also near schools? | “I would say if we’re going down that line, shouldn’t we perhaps think about some guidelines for appropriate advertising when it comes to violence and weapons also near schools? |
| “I’m totally against the idea that carrying a handgun is normal for anyone in our society, and this contributes to a culture where guns are considered cool and acceptable.” | “I’m totally against the idea that carrying a handgun is normal for anyone in our society, and this contributes to a culture where guns are considered cool and acceptable.” |
| Stella Creasy, the Walthamstow MP, commended the act on Twitter. | Stella Creasy, the Walthamstow MP, commended the act on Twitter. |
| Wasn't a priest but a local dad who felt that promoting guns in a community with a gun crime problem not the way to tackle it so applied some creative thinking to alternatives...#onlyinE17 #walthamstow https://t.co/Otm3SFhJgt | Wasn't a priest but a local dad who felt that promoting guns in a community with a gun crime problem not the way to tackle it so applied some creative thinking to alternatives...#onlyinE17 #walthamstow https://t.co/Otm3SFhJgt |
| It did, however, provoke an angry response from the actors Noel Clarke and Ashley Walters. | It did, however, provoke an angry response from the actors Noel Clarke and Ashley Walters. |
| “They only vandalised our poster and made it a cute story because it’s us,” Clarke wrote on Instagram. “If they covered posters with white actors holding guns it would be a full-time job. And would it even make news?” | “They only vandalised our poster and made it a cute story because it’s us,” Clarke wrote on Instagram. “If they covered posters with white actors holding guns it would be a full-time job. And would it even make news?” |
| Creasy replied in an attempt to communicate local concerns. She invited Clarke to Walthamstow “to meet the parents who are upset to understand why the location of the poster was so potent”. | Creasy replied in an attempt to communicate local concerns. She invited Clarke to Walthamstow “to meet the parents who are upset to understand why the location of the poster was so potent”. |
| Manchester police chief opposes officers routinely carrying guns | |
| Walters also weighed into the debate, explaining that due to traumatic personal experience, he has seen the effect violence can have on a community. | Walters also weighed into the debate, explaining that due to traumatic personal experience, he has seen the effect violence can have on a community. |
| “The poster with me and [Clarke] holding guns is not glamorising violence. Our characters are armed policemen,” he wrote. | “The poster with me and [Clarke] holding guns is not glamorising violence. Our characters are armed policemen,” he wrote. |
| “Stella Creasy should spend more time asking the government why they waste money on war every day – actually destroying people’s lives around the world – meanwhile leaving Londoners lining up for food banks. If that’s not pushing people into violence, I don’t know what is.” | “Stella Creasy should spend more time asking the government why they waste money on war every day – actually destroying people’s lives around the world – meanwhile leaving Londoners lining up for food banks. If that’s not pushing people into violence, I don’t know what is.” |
| The rate of serious crime in London has soared in the past year, with gun crime up 23%, while the number of suspected murders has spiked in the capital. | The rate of serious crime in London has soared in the past year, with gun crime up 23%, while the number of suspected murders has spiked in the capital. |
| Police chiefs this week discussed frontline officers routinely carrying guns due to concerns that Britain’s elevated terrorism threat is here to stay. | Police chiefs this week discussed frontline officers routinely carrying guns due to concerns that Britain’s elevated terrorism threat is here to stay. |
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