Visit London has been forced to withdraw a promotional video shown during the Olympics handover after complaints about its depiction of Moors murderer Myra Hindley.
Controversial artwork featuring Hindley’s face was included as part of a short film to promote London. It was shown on a loop at an invitation-only party at London House attended by Gordon Brown, Boris Johnson, Olympics minister Tessa Jowell, and chairman of 2012 Sebastian Coe.
Millions of TV viewers saw the image after it was inadvertently included as part of a montage by BBC technicians.
A spokesman for Johnson said the mayor was “deeply disturbed” the image had been shown. A Downing Street spokesman said it was in “poor taste”.
Visit London stressed that the film was not part of the handover ceremony and was not shown in the Olympic stadium.
“This is a general three-minute video of London in which an artwork by Marcus Harvey very fleetingly appears,” it said in a statement.
“The video is not for general public use and has been used many times over the last few years to show to the tourism trade. We will withdraw it from use with immediate effect.”
Hindley was jailed for life along with Ian Brady for the murders of four children between 1963 and 1964 in what became known as the Moors Murders. She died in custody in 2002.
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By Gemma Sharkey
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