Ryanair, the budget airline, has been criticised by the advertising watchdog for using schoolgirl imagery deemed to be irresponsible and a breach of decency.

The advert, promising the “Hottest Back to School Fares”, used a model posing provocatively in what looked like a school uniform wearing a short tartan skirt, white shirt and knee-high white socks.

The Advertising Standards Agency ruled that the advert “appeared to link teenage girls with sexually provocative behaviour and was irresponsible and likely to cause serious or widespread offence”.

Ryanair has gained a reputation for publicity-seeking advertising campaigns. In December last year the airline was forced to settle out of court with Goeran Persson, Sweden’s ex-prime minister, after using his picture without permission.

Lawyers for Nicolas Sarkozy and Carla Bruni, his girlfriend, announced today that they were also taking the company to court for breaching their privacy after using a photo of the couple without consent.

The ASA told Ryanair to withdraw the schoolgirl advert and ensure its future adverts complied with the advertising code.

The controversial image was printed in three newspapers in August with a combined circulation of 3.5 million. The ASA received 13 complaints from readers who found it offensive.

After an investigation, the ASA ruled that the model’s clothing strongly suggested she was a schoolgirl and found that the advert breached the advertising code.

Ryanair responded that the number of complaints was insignificant compared with the readership

“This isn’t advertising regulation, it is simply censorship. This bunch of unelected self-appointed dimwits are clearly incapable of fairly and impartially ruling on advertising,” said Peter Sherrard, head of communications.

“It is remarkable that a picture of a fully clothed model is now claimed to cause ‘serious or widespread offence’, when many of the UK’s leading daily newspapers regularly run pictures of topless or partially dressed females without causing any serious or widespread offence.”

Mr Sherrard remained defiant and said Ryanair believed there was nothing irresponsible nor offensive in its advert.

“Consequently we will not be withdrawing this ad and we will not provide the ASA with any of the undertakings they seek,” he said.

The ASA replied that ignoring their ruling, which has no legal weight, was irrelevant as the three newspapers that carried the advert have refused to print it again.

In a separate ruling today the ASA partially upheld a complaint that Ryanair had made misleading claims about the price of flights.

The watchdog ruled that an advert that claimed: “The lowest fares from Britain. £10 All In!” was another breach of advertising guidelines because writing “Subject to availability” was not equivalent to saying flights were available “from” £10.

The authority has frequently criticised Ryanair’s aggressive advertisements. In 2004, the airline was reprimanded over claims about prices and misleading comparisons to low-cost rival easyJet.

The watchdog also named Ryanair’s press campaign encouraging tourists to visit London soon after the July 7 bombings as one of its “most complained about ads of 2005”.

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