DVLA bans pro-Brexit number plates
The Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency (DVLA) has banned several pro-Brexit number plates ahead of the launch of new '75' registrations later this year.
The DVLA blocks any combinations that 'may cause offence, embarrassment or are in poor taste'.
The newly prohibited plates include 'EU75 OUT', 'EU75 SHT', 'EU75 WAR' as well as 'EU75 YES'. Any driver caught using them could face a fine of up to £1,000 and fail their MOT.
The '75' registrations hold a special significance for opponents of the European Union, as it was in 1975 that Britain voted to remain a member of the common market. In 2018, when plates featuring the number 68 were released, the DVLA blocked 'EU68 BAD'. This year, the agency has also banned apparent references to the Nazi death camp of Auschwitz, including 'AU75 WTS' and 'AU75 WTZ'. Mentions of drugs are also barred, including 'LE75 LSD', and sexuality, such as 'AS75 GAY'.
Over the past decade, sales of personalised number plates have more than doubled in Britain. The DVLA raised £276 million from their sale in the last financial year, figures published by the BBC reveal.
Combinations that appear to refer to violence, criminality and politics, among other forbidden topics, are blocked. In total, over 400 registration character combinations have been banned in advance of the annual Sept 1 release.
They were revealed following a freedom of information (FOI) request by Regtransfers, a private plates supplier. Mark Trimbee, Regtransfer's chief executive, told the Sun: 'These bans ensure that number plates on the road aren't ones that could be translated into something inflammatory, offensive, insulting, obscene or otherwise problematic.
'There are almost always some, however, that might take a bit of deciphering, but the DVLA has to err on the side of caution.'
The DVLA blocked 210 personalised plates ahead of last year's launch.
In 2017, they removed 'JH11 HAD' – an Islamic term for struggle – from a Ford Fiesta owner.
At the time, the agency said: 'We try to identify all combinations that may cause offence, and on the rare occasion where potentially offensive numbers slip through the net, steps are taken to withdraw the number.'
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