Artist 'taking legal advice' over Tories' use of Andy Burnham portrait

An artist has said he is taking legal advice after accusing the Conservative Party of copying his portrait of Andy Burnham at their party conference.

People attending the event in Birmingham have been handed water bottles featuring the image and labelled "Bottler Burnham" and "0% strength" and sweets labelled "Andy Panders' People Pleaser Pick N Mix".

Labour supporter Stanley Chow, who created the image for Burnham's 2021 mayoral campaign in Greater Manchester, has claimed the party did not ask for permission to use the image.

A Conservative Party spokeswoman said the bottles were not on sale and merely handed out to attending media in "goody bags".

Manchester illustrator Chow said: "I was stunned and angry when I saw what they had done. It is childish from them. I am taking legal advice.

"I'm very disappointed. It's frustrating that an institution like the Conservative Party has no idea that they are infringing copyright."

The artist claimed Reform UK had also infringed his copyright by using the image a few months ago in AI-generated social media campaign posts.

A Reform UK spokesman said at the time that it had "removed the posts in good faith and without any admission of liability on our part".

Chow said: "I can't quite believe the Tories are resorting to this too.

"Regardless of your political allegiance, what the Tories have done is still copyright infringement.

"Ultimately, I want to raise awareness that you can't just take someone else's artwork and do what you want with it.

"I want to show other artists that when this does happen, you can make a stand, especially in this day and age where artists are struggling, because of AI and the cost of living."

Chow's image of Burnham has been used extensively by the politician across a series of campaigns and was recently used by the now-PM when he stood for election in Makerfield in June.

Manchester United fan Chow is well-known for his portraits of famous faces and he has previously created images of footballers, including Wayne Rooney, Edgar Davids and Ronaldinho.

He has also exhibited a series of portraits of "Great Northerners", which featured the likes of actress Maxine Peake, suffragette leader Emmeline Pankhurst and poet Lemn Sissay, and recently curated an art trail for the Brit Awards' arrival in his home city.

He has also drawn Eric Cantona and presented a picture of Sir Alex Ferguson to the former Red Devils manager.

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