Harriet Harman's son part of team behind controversial poster mocking Calais immigration crisis

Acting Labour leader's son part of Paddy Power's 'mischief team' which made poster urging immigrants to 'jump' into lorries if they are good at sport

'Immigrants, jump in the back! (But only if you’re good at sport)' read poster put out by Paddy Power about Calais crisis
'Immigrants, jump in the back! (But only if you’re good at sport)' read poster put out by Paddy Power about Calais crisis Credit: Photo: Handout

Paddy Power has been accused of a crass stunt mocking the Calais immigration crisis as it emerged the acting Labour leader’s son was part of the team that created the poster.

Harry Dromey, the son of Harriet Harman, works for the advertising team which took a lorry to Calais carrying a poster urging foreigners to "jump in the back" if they were good at sport.

The bookmakers confirmed Mr Dromey was part of the four-man “mischief team” which comes up with headline-grabbing stunts but later played down his involvement.

It comes with the government locked in crisis talks with French ministers as strikes at the port have seen hundreds of immigrants target lorries queued at ferry ports due to strikes.

With wildcat strikes hitting Calais, Paddy Power has this morning headed to the French port in a bold bid to give Britain’s sporting talent pool a boost in their latest tongue-in-cheek campaign. 

Amid the current immigrant crisis engulfing the popular gateway into Britain, the new lorry advert was photographed en-route to Calais emblazoned with images of the finest superstars acquired from outside Britain’s borders, under the headline “Immigrants, jump in the back! (But only if you’re good at sport)”.

Theresa May on Thursday headed to Paris for talks about how to end the crisis while representatives of the haulage industry urged the government to deploy troops to help deter stowaways.

Ms Harman has pressurised David Cameron to go further since becoming acting leader in May, warning that British lorry drivers were “facing harassment and intimidation” over the row.

However the advertising team her son Harry – who takes the surname of Ms Harman’s husband Jack Dromey – works for has ridiculed the crisis.

David Cameron has been accused of not being straight about his close links with News International after he finally admitted riding Rebekah Brooks’s ex-police horse.

Harriet Harman took over as acting Labour leader following Ed Miliband's resignation

Paddy Power plastered a lorry in a giant poster that read “immigrants, jump in the back! (But only if you’re good at sport)" and took it to the border at Calais and the White Cliffs of Dover.

The poster included photographs of British sportsmen born outside England such as tennis player Andy Murray and athlete Mo Farah while the images were circulated to journalists.

“Amid the current immigrant crisis engulfing the popular gateway into Britain, the new lorry advert was photographed en-route to Calais emblazoned with images of the finest superstars acquired from outside Britain’s borders,” a press release boasted.

With wildcat strikes hitting Calais, Paddy Power has this morning headed to the French port in a bold bid to give Britain’s sporting talent pool a boost in their latest tongue-in-cheek campaign. 

Amid the current immigrant crisis engulfing the popular gateway into Britain, the new lorry advert was photographed en-route to Calais emblazoned with images of the finest superstars acquired from outside Britain’s borders, under the headline “Immigrants, jump in the back! (But only if you’re good at sport)”.

A Paddy Power spokesman confirmed Mr Dromey worked for the company’s “mischief team”, which is said to adopt a “light-hearted tone to entertain our punters”.

However when asked to comment, the company later said Mr Dromey had “zero involvement” in the project.

“It was meant as a bit of light hearted fun around Murray’s Wimbledon campaign and the situation in Calais. As with all Paddy Power stunts the intention is to entertain, not offend,” a spokesman said.

Asked if Ms Harman would distance herself from the posters, a spokesman for the Labour MP declined to comment.