UK in clash with European Court over political ads ban 21 April 2013 Last updated at 18:42 The government says it will resist attempts to allow US-style political advertising on British TV ahead of an important legal judgement on the issue. European judges are to rule on a legal challenge claiming a blanket ban on the adverts breaches right to free speech. The UK says any change to the rules governing political advertising should be a matter for the UK rather than the European Court of Human Rights (ECHR). Justice Secretary Chris Grayling said it was outside the court's remit. On Monday, the Grand Chamber of the Strasbourg court will deliver its judgment in the long-running case brought by an animal welfare group amid UK concerns that a relaxation of the ban could lead to the airwaves being dominated by the political pressure groups with the deepest pockets. In 2005, Animal Defenders International was blocked from screening a TV advertisement which juxtaposed images of a girl and a chimpanzee in chains in an animal cage. Wide support The House of Lords upheld the ban in 2008 and the group then took the case to the European Court, claiming the prohibition breached the Article 10 right to freedom of expression. Mr Grayling told the Mail on Sunday: "I have very serious misgivings about the fact that the court considers this issue to be within its remit. It raises major questions about the role of the ECHR in Britain. The ban on political advertising was put there for a purpose: to protect the integrity of our democracy. Any change should be a matter for the UK Parliament, not the ECHR. A Department for Culture, Media and Sport spokesman said it was confident the government's stance on the issue was correct. "Political adverts are - and have always been - banned on British TV and radio," he said. That ban has wide support and has helped sustain the balance of views which is at the heart of British broadcasting - and ensures that advertising broadcast into our homes is not determined by those who have the deepest pockets. The UK is already involved in a major row with the ECHR over the issue of votes for prisoners, with some Conservatives calling for the government to abandon its obligations under the 60-year old European Convention on Human Rights. The government has also led calls for reform of the court so it takes on fewer cases which have already been ruled on by domestic judges.