Swedish prime minister sues Ryanair

SWEDISH Prime Minister Goran Persson and an ex-minister are suing Ryanair for using a picture of them in an advertisement for cheap flights with the caption “time to flee the country?”, their lawyer said yesterday.

Social Democrat leader Persson, who faces a tough bid for re-election in September, and former Foreign Minister Laila Freivalds have been widely criticised for their tardy response to the Asian tsunami in which 500 Swedish holidaymakers died.

They are suing Ryanair in Stockholm for what their lawyer called a “symbolic” sum of 75,000 crowns (€8,058) each, for breaking a Swedish law against the unauthorised use of names or images in advertising.