Officials have ordered the registration 1 NLA to be removed because it could be doctored to read "INLA" – the acronym for the outlawed Irish National Liberation Army.
A plate reading PAK 11N has also been pulled from the event, due to start this
morning at Tankersley Manor, near Barnsley, because of possible racist interpretation.
The 1 NLA plate was due to go under the hammer with a reserve price of £3,200 tomorrow, while the entire three-day sale of 1,500 numbers is expected to raise £1.9m.
PAK 11N had a reserve of £400 for its auction on Friday and had been passed for sale along with 1 NLA by a DVLA committee that considers the merits of each plate.
The proprietary steering group is meant to police a ban on potentially offensive number plates that could spell out words related to terrorism, religion, sex or other provocative themes.
Just over a month ago the DVLA axed two plates – F4 GOT and D1 KES – from its last auction following a complaint from gay rights charity Stonewall.
The DVLA's personalised registrations marketing manager, Damian Lawson, said : "Missing the potential significance of these particular marks was human error. They have been removed as a precaution."