Rotterdam transport company RET has rejected efforts by Geert Wilders to emblazon one of the city’s trams with a campaign poster with the words ‘stop Islam’.

‘Our guidelines state that we do not allow political statements on our trams and that applies to every party,’ a spokesman told RTL Nieuws. ‘So we have rejected the PVV’s request.’

Many cities have similar rules for public transport, the broadcaster said.

A spokesman for the advertising standards authority said that while there are no specific rules for political parties, adverts ‘may not be insulting, conflict with the truth and be misleading’.