Government has ordered advertising posters for the Opposition to be removed from bus shelters around the Island.The Opposition One Bermuda Alliance complained about the “political censorship” yesterday — but the ruling Progressive Labour Party [PLP] said advertising on Government property would set “a dangerous precedent”.Pat Gordon-Pamplin, the Shadow Transport spokeswoman, said: “This situation came to our attention on Tuesday when we were informed by the agency contracted to post the ads that a senior official at the Department of Transport told them to take down the posters, and that the order to do so came from ‘higher up’. The posters, the official reportedly said, did not meet Transport’s ‘criteria’.”She added: “The agency reported that its contract with the Transport Department permits bus shelter advertising as long as it does not display profanity, pornography or alcohol and/or drugs. When the agency protested that the contract contained no restriction on political advertising, they were told to ‘just take them down’. We understand the posters are to be removed this afternoon. We call on the Minister of Transport to justify this act of political censorship.“Our concern is this: when a government feels it can prohibit public expression, it starts down a slippery bad path. Today, no Opposition posters. Tomorrow, who knows what? Bermuda needs to steer clear of such heavy-handed behaviour, and so we call on the Minister to provide Bermuda with the clearest explanation of why his Government ordered the posters taken down.”The ads, the first of which were installed in bus shelters on Monday, carried the OBA message on the need for change.Responding to her statement, a PLP spokesman said: “Allowing advertising on government property sets a dangerous precedent. When the PLP was offered, we turned it down as we believe it’s highly inappropriate to have political advertising on government property.“We believe that this is a common-sense position and have no intention of splashing political advertising on government property. We challenge the OBA to abide by the important precedent that government property is no place for partisan politics.”He added: ‘The OBA crossing this line is very dangerous. Today, politics in government bus shelters. Tomorrow, who knows what? This is a very slippery and dangerous path that the OBA would have for our Country. Bermuda needs to steer clear of allowing political messages to appear on government property.“It’s a shame that the OBA is using this as a distraction because they don’t want to talk about their lack of ideas and vision for the Country. So, they are using political distractions like trying to display political propaganda on government property. Instead of distractions, we encourage Ms Patricia Gordon-Pamplin and the rest of her OBA party to tell us what they mean when they endorse austerity. Austerity means deep and radical cuts and Bermudians want to know whose jobs, benefits, and pensions are on the line. That’s what this election is really about.”A Government spokesman said: “The Government fully supports the freedom of speech and public expression but the posting of political advertisements in or on government-owned buildings and equipment is considered unacceptable and improper.“The Department of Public Transportation has a contract with a local media company which facilitates billboard marketing and advertising opportunities in public bus shelters. In accordance with the contractual agreement the Department of Public Transport reserves the right to vet and approve advertising content prior to posting the advertisement.“It was brought to the Ministry’s attention on Tuesday October 16 that the billboards installed in some public bus shelters had political advertisement posted on them without the appropriate prior approvals and the contractor was instructed to remove the posters.”Meanwhile Kim Swan said the row shows the need for Bermuda to update its regulations governing elections.“This latest row parallels concerns recently raised by myself with the Broadcasting Commission with the use of CITV by the Government Ministers during this lead up to the election, “ said Mr Swan, who was elected as an MP under the UBP banner.“In addition to the questions that this situation raises, Bermuda also remains devoid of regulations governing the spending of political organisations during election periods. Previous elections have seen the two dominant political parties spend millions of dollars trying to convey their message to persuade swing voters, counter their opponents’ message or discredit their opponent. In this regard, Bermuda could benefit from having campaign finance regulation and updated regulations to govern the establishment of political parties [and] their financial operation to ensure fair practices on an ongoing basis and also during election periods.”