Eurosceptic East Anglian photographer “livid” after picture appears without permission in government’s £9m pro-EU brochure

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09:33 12 April 2016


Norfolk photographer Mike Page who is furious that the government have used one of his photos without permission or payment in the referendum booklet. PHOTO BY SIMON FINLAY
When eurosceptic Mike Page picked up the latest pro-European Union pamphlet from his doormat the last thing he expected to see was one of his own pictures of the Port of Felixstowe.


The pro-Brexit photographer, whose aerial shots of East Anglia are much-loved by Eastern Daily Press readers and have raised thousands of pounds for charity, was “livid” to find that unbeknownst to him a shot taken earlier this year had been used without his knowledge or permission in the taxpayer-funded document making the case to remain.
The 76-year-old, who runs a garage in Strumpshaw, near Norwich, has accepted a charity donation from the port and said he would not be taking it further,
The government has come under fire for spending £9m of public funds producing, promoting and sending the leaflet to every household in Britain.
Mr Page, who received the leaflet yesterday, said: “I had a quick look at it and thought ‘that looks like mine’. I checked, and it was.”
The photograph had been given to the Port of Felixstowe by Mr Page, but he said he had not given permission for it to be used by a third party without his say so, and would not have given permission if asked. 
“I totally disagree with what they are doing, particularly producing this brochure. They are submitting that to every house in the UK and it has cost us a fortune and a lot of the stuff they are putting in there is total rubbish. But the point is they used it without asking.”
Mr Page, who flies aeroplanes as a hobby, said that he would be voting to leave the European Union because of the way European Union legislation had affected flying, adding extra costs for licence renewal and medical checks. He was also critical of the impact the European Union had on his garage business in Strumpshaw and the regulations around conservation. He also claimed that EU regulations around river drainage had led to more flooding.
A Port of Felixstowe spokesman said: “It was one of a number of photographs we provided to the government. On this particular image there was a misunderstanding on the copyright but this has been resolved to Mike Page’s satisfaction.” 
Downing Street said Felixstowe port had provided the image and gave permission for its use in the leaflet. 
Prime minister David Cameron MP has visited the Port of Felixstowe twice in the last 12 months, most recently speaking to a group of port employees and customers about the benefits of the UK’s membership of the European Union.
What do you think of the government’s EU leaflet? Email edpletters@archant.co.uk

Keywords: David Cameron European Union Eastern Daily PressUnited Kingdom Norwich

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13 comments
  • Yea Mike, terrible the way Europe insists pilots are safe to fly, garages fix your car up to drive safely and our environment has some semblance of protection. Suprised you haven't retired off to Spain to grumble about how the locals don't speak English, never mind, a talking point for you down at the golf club bar to bore everyone there with your views eh what what!
    SilverMachine
    Tuesday, April 12, 2016
  • Not a good idea to use Felixstowe which imports much cargo from the Far East and not the EU. "Made in China" and other Far Eastern countries appears on a great many products on sale in the shops in this country these days, and a high percentage of these goods pass through Felixstowe. Despite being in the glorious EU at present, British made goods are becoming hard to find in the UK, having been superseded by imports. 
    thelowestoftlake
    Tuesday, April 12, 2016
  • That rubbish they wasted our money on, has more lies and poo than the sun newspaper! I wouldn't even use it as emergency loo paper, bet thing we can do is get out of Europe, for the benefit of future generations
    Rebecca Jones
    Tuesday, April 12, 2016
  • Not a good idea to supply photographs or images to anyone without sorting out the position regarding third party use and copyright. Get it in writing-especially if our "beloved" Prime Minister is involved! As for Felixstowe, most of the ships that use the port are carrying containers full of goods imported from non EU countries anyhow. 
    Central
    Tuesday, April 12, 2016
  • It says that the copyright agreement was resolved to his satisfaction , if so he should accept its use in the leaflet, if they have infringed the agreement he should sue the government. It does seem a bit much that tax payers are paying for this leaflet, the same amount of money should have been given to the Brexit campaign just to keep things balanced. What appears as Government arrogance could push voters to vote to leave the EU.
    Jenkins 
    Tuesday, April 12, 2016
  • Victoria I don't think using a photo indicates the unfairness of this campaign however it does show that Cameron will go to any length to get his message to as many people as he can - in all fairness that's what he is meant to do just as the 'OUT' campaign should - I guess they haven't access to £9m of the public's money. More and more weeks go by but still I'm not sure which is the right decision. at least one side is presenting their case. if we disagree with the 'IN' document then I guess it means you are a 'OUT' voter
    Jonno65
    Tuesday, April 12, 2016
  • Victoria Holland - how can this be proof that the "Pro EU side don't want to play fair in this campaign"? The Port of Felixstowe was asked for publicity photos. They supplied them. One was Mr Page's. It's down to the Port authorities to ensure that the copyright of the pictures allows third-party use. Whatever your thoughts on the EU vote, this is down to administration at the Port, not whoever put the leaflet together, and they admit their mistake in the story.
    So_Many_Haters!
    Tuesday, April 12, 2016
  • He is absolutely right to be livid at the misuse of his photo! This sort of thing shows that the pro-EU side don't want to play fair in this campaign. All we hear from them is insults and scaremongering. The government spending £9m of taxpayers' money on pro-EU propaganda also means that the Remain campaign will end up being allowed to spend much more than the Leave campaign - how is that fair? If the EU is so good, why would its supporters need to spend so much money rigging the referendum in their favour? And no, it's not just older people who want to leave - I know several young people who do.
    Victoria Holland
    Tuesday, April 12, 2016
  • What a stren face. Must be the free publicity 
    mossey
    Tuesday, April 12, 2016
  • "rubbish" being spouted on both sides. The pamphlet presented resonable arguments for "Remain" which is the governments policy , don't have a problem with it. What I do have a problem with is the hysteria on the "leave" side that blames almost everything on the EU. Weather a bit chilly for this time of year? That'll be the EU. 
    Stephen Strange
    Tuesday, April 12, 2016
  • I would have thought medical checks for 76 year old pilots is a very good example of a reason to stay in.
    Only Me
    Tuesday, April 12, 2016
  • "The 76-year-old" Standard pro-Brexit demographic?



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