A new Coalition row blew up today as the Liberal Democrats claimed they had forced Home Secretary Theresa May to axe her “Go Home” ad vans.
Newly appointed Home Office minister Norman Baker told the Evening Standard that he had “made clear” that the advertising campaign, which told illegal immigrants to “go home or face arrest”, was unacceptable and should not be rolled out nationwide.
Lib-Dem sources said Mr Baker’s intervention brought about the final demise of a campaign which was tested in six London boroughs.
However, Mrs May’s allies said this was “not true” and the real reason the scheme was being dropped was that it had not proved effective enough.
Coalition relations are in a deep freeze as Nick Clegg prepares to attack the Government’s free schools policy in a speech on Thursday.
Mrs May is said to have been dismayed by the appointment of Mr Baker, who wrote a book claiming that former UN weapons inspector David Kelly was murdered and the evidence covered up by security officials.
A Lib-Dem source said of the “Go Home” vans: “They may well not have been very effective, but they were stopped because of Norman.”
An aide to Mrs May said: “Theresa saw an interim evaluation which didn’t convince her of future roll-out. It was absolutely nothing to do with Baker.”
