Maverick advertising boss warned that he faces jail if he breaches court order

Advertising boss Tim Horrox, right, arrives at court

CAMDEN Council claimed its milestone 150th banning order yesterday (Wednesday) when a judge told a maverick advertising boss to halt his company’s fly-posting campaigns.
In what is being seen as Britain’s first “white-collar Asbo”, Tim Horrox, managing director of Camden Town-based agency Diabolical Liberties, was hit with a two-year order banning him from authorising fly-poster displays in the borough.
District judge James Henderson told Highbury Corner Magistrates’ Court he was satisfied the fly-posters caused residents distress by “defacing the area they care about”.
After hearing four days of evidence, including claims from council officials and Labour councillors Theo Blackwell and Barbara Hughes that messy posters heighten the perception of high crime levels on Camden’s streets, the judge drew up an Anti-Social Behaviour Order (Asbo) against Mr Horrox yesterday (Wednesday) morning.
If conditions are broken, the agency chief could be hauled back to court and given a jail term.
Mr Horrox – known by the nickname “Mr Fly-poster” in some Camden circles – is being seen as the Town Hall’s most spectacular scalp in its Asbo campaign.
The previous 149 orders have targeted drug users, prostitutes, noisy neighbours and unruly youths.
But, in the first case of its kind, the council brought proceedings against Mr Horrox, with lawyers insisting he was ultimately responsible for his company’s fly-poster campaigns, which they said blighted the borough.
Diabolical Liberties is one of the country’s leading advertising agencies, with an annual turnover thought to run to millions of pounds.
Council officials claimed a fly-posting epidemic has been dramatically reduced since an interim order was imposed on Mr Horrox and other members of the Diabolical Liberties team last year.
Previous fly-poster Asbo cases against executives from multinational music companies Sony and BMG did not reach court after staff agreed to halt their ad campaigns.
Mr Horrox declined to give evidence during the proceedings but sat in court every day.
He said afterwards that the experience had been “bizarre” and that he would take advice on whether or not to appeal against the judge’s decision.
His fly-poster ban was not extended to other areas of the country.
The high-profile case – pushed by the Town Hall’s press office in special briefings with journalists to ensure maximum exposure – has cost Camden around £60,000.
It will not be known whether Mr Horrox will appeal until a separate hearing in May.
Labour environment supremo Councillor John Thane said: “We are delighted by this verdict, which vindicates the council’s decision to seek Asbos against fly-posters and the time and effort the council has put in to achieve a positive outcome.”
The 150th Asbo milestone comes just six months after Camden claimed its 100th order. No other London authority has applied for so many Asbos, and there is no sign the pace will slow down in the coming months.
In recent weeks, Labour councillors have poured scorn on neighbouring authorities, such as Liberal Democrat-run Islington, which have not ploughed resources into gaining the banning orders.