Tories agree to pay artist who threatened legal action over ‘Burnham Bottler’

The Tories have agreed to pay an artist who threatened legal action after the party used his portrait of Andy Burnham to mock the Prime Minister.

Stanley Chow accused the Conservatives of copyright infringement after his cartoon, which featured prominently in the Labour leader’s Makerfield by-election campaign, appeared on merchandise at the opposition party’s conference this autumn.

The illustration was used on water bottles, alongside the words “Bottler Burnham” and “0% strength”, that the Conservatives handed out to journalists attending the event.

The Press Association understands the party agreed to pay a £1,000 copyright fee and a contribution to legal costs.

Mr Chow said: “After seeing my portrait used by Reform to push messages I fundamentally disagree with, finding it on Conservative conference giveaways was frustrating. This is work I’ve put time and care into, and it’s how I make my living. Artists should have a say in where their work appears and what it’s used to promote.

Bottles of water featuring an illustration by artist Stanley Chow, depicting British Labour prime minister Andy Burnham, were seen at the Conservative Party Conference in Birmingham

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“I hope this makes political parties – and others – think twice before treating artists’ work as theirs for the taking. You might expect the Conservative Party would want to support Britain’s creative industries – asking an artist’s permission before using their work would be a good place to start.”

A Conservative spokesman said: “The Conservative Party values the importance of intellectual property in the creative industries. We consider this matter closed.”

A party source said the water bottles had sought to highlight what they described as the Prime Minister “ducking big decisions like cutting welfare to fund defence”, and that “sadly for families across the country, these depictions of Andy Burnham remain very real”.