Salami wars over Tube poster

It started out as a lighthearted attempt to end the curse of Tube passengers eating smelly food. But today a London Underground poster campaign showing an Italian delicatessen owner surrounded by salami and Parma hams is at the centre of an international row.

Offended Italians bombarded their embassy in London with complaints saying they were insulted by the photograph of their fellow countryman surrounded by some of the products they are proudest of.

Italy's ambassador to London, Giancarlo Aragona, fired off letters to Ken Livingstone as well as London Underground marketing director Richard Parry and also informed officials in Rome of the offensive posters.

The Italian Trade Commission became involved and the company whose logo was clearly visible on one of the salami's - Villani of Modena - threatened legal action.

Now London Underground has been forced into an embarrassing apology and is to withdraw the posters, which cost in excess of ?100,000 to produce.

Guido Cerboni, of the Italian embassy in London, said: "I just can't believe how naive London Underground were in allowing these posters to go on display on the Underground. The man on the Tube is clearly Italian and he is surrounded by Italian salami and Parma ham and you can quite clearly see the Italian flag and the name of an Italian firm.

"The poster implies that Italian food is smelly and that Italians eat smelly food. This was a colossal error and as soon as we heard about it we complained to London Underground and the Mayor's office."

He added: "Mr Livingstone always strives to be politically correct but I don't think I have ever seen anything so politically incorrect.

"We had a call from Richard Parry who said the posters would be taken down and he apologised and said there had never been any intention to offend. I understand the Mayor's office has launched an inquiry."

Before news emerged of the backdown, a spokesman at the Italian agriculture ministry in Rome, said: "We call immediately for this bad publicity to be withdrawn. This campaign does not do any honour to whoever thought of it and it damages Italy's image.

"Our meat products are of the highest quality and have pride of place on any table across the world." Gianni Gorreri, of the Association of Meat and Salami, said: "We have sent a complaint to Brussels about this and we are discussing with solicitors the damage that has been caused to Italy's image."

Today Transport for London said it had already begun taking down the posters, and had issued an apology to "charcuterie manufacturers". "The poster was meant to be a light-hearted attempt to dissuade Tube passengers from eating smelly foods. Under no circumstances was it meant to cause offence to any nationality or company," a spokesman said.

Mr Livingstone's office could not be reached for comment.