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20 June 2016updated 27 Jul 2021 12:24pm

Nissan to take legal action against the Vote Leave campaign

In a letter to staff obtained by the New Statesman, the car manufacturer takes issue with the use of logos and quotations on pro-Brexit campaign literature.

By Anoosh Chakelian

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Nissan has decided to take legal action against Vote Leave. In a letter to all Nissan employees obtained by the New Statesman, the Nissan Europe chairman explains that the company is taking issue with campaign leaflets that “grossly misrepresent our position”.

The company is in favour of Britain remaining in the EU, and has been considering legal action against Vote Leave for weeks due to leaflets quoting Nissan executives and using the company logo. In the letter, the chairman Paul Willcox explains his firm’s decision to take action, accusing the campaign of having “taken Nissan executives quotes out of context, used our name to represent their cause, and used our logo and imagery on their website and on leaflets”.

Willcox also claims that Nissan has made “repeated requests” to the campaign asking it to stop, which it has “refused”:

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This Vote Leave leaflet is an example of its use of the logo:

Nissan’s decision comes after the heads of a number of blue-chip firms warned the Vote Leave campaign just last week to stop misrepresenting their positions. The heads of Unilever, Airbus and GE accused Vote Leave of using their company names on “propaganda” to “deliberately mislead” voters.

Vote Leave has been contacted for a response.

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