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| Tesco halts production at Chinese factory over alleged 'forced' labour | Tesco halts production at Chinese factory over alleged 'forced' labour |
| (32 minutes later) | |
| Tesco has suspended production at a factory in China following allegations forced prison labour was used to pack charity Christmas cards. | |
| It comes after the Sunday Times reported a six-year-old girl from south London found a message from Shanghai prisoners hidden in a box of cards. | It comes after the Sunday Times reported a six-year-old girl from south London found a message from Shanghai prisoners hidden in a box of cards. |
| "Please help us and notify human rights organisation," the message said. | "Please help us and notify human rights organisation," the message said. |
| Tesco said it was "shocked" by the report, adding: "We would never allow prison labour in our supply chain." | Tesco said it was "shocked" by the report, adding: "We would never allow prison labour in our supply chain." |
| The supermarket said it would de-list the supplier of the cards, Zheijiang Yunguang Printing, if it was found to have used prison labour. | The supermarket said it would de-list the supplier of the cards, Zheijiang Yunguang Printing, if it was found to have used prison labour. |
| According to the Sunday Times, Florence Widdicombe opened a box of Tesco cards to find that one of them - featuring a kitten with a Santa hat - had already been written in. | According to the Sunday Times, Florence Widdicombe opened a box of Tesco cards to find that one of them - featuring a kitten with a Santa hat - had already been written in. |
| In block capitals, it said: "We are foreign prisoners in Shanghai Qingpu prison China. Forced to work against our will. Please help us and notify human rights organisation." | In block capitals, it said: "We are foreign prisoners in Shanghai Qingpu prison China. Forced to work against our will. Please help us and notify human rights organisation." |
| A Tesco spokeswoman said: "We were shocked by these allegations and immediately halted production at the factory where these cards are produced and launched an investigation." | A Tesco spokeswoman said: "We were shocked by these allegations and immediately halted production at the factory where these cards are produced and launched an investigation." |
| The supermarket said it has a "comprehensive auditing system" to ensure suppliers are not exploiting forced labour. | The supermarket said it has a "comprehensive auditing system" to ensure suppliers are not exploiting forced labour. |
| The factory in question was checked only last month and no evidence of it breaking the ban on prison labour was found, it said. | The factory in question was checked only last month and no evidence of it breaking the ban on prison labour was found, it said. |
| Sales of charity Christmas cards at the company's supermarkets raise £300,000 a year for the British Heart Foundation, Cancer Research UK and Diabetes UK. | Sales of charity Christmas cards at the company's supermarkets raise £300,000 a year for the British Heart Foundation, Cancer Research UK and Diabetes UK. |
| The retailer has not received any other complaints from customers about messages inside Christmas cards. | The retailer has not received any other complaints from customers about messages inside Christmas cards. |
| 'Message in a bottle' | 'Message in a bottle' |
| The message in the card urged the recipient to contact Peter Humphrey, a journalist who was formerly imprisoned at Qingpu on what he described as "bogus charges that were never heard in court". | The message in the card urged the recipient to contact Peter Humphrey, a journalist who was formerly imprisoned at Qingpu on what he described as "bogus charges that were never heard in court". |
| After the Widdicombe family sent him a message via Linkedin, Mr Humphrey said he then contacted ex-prisoners who confirmed inmates had been forced into mundane assembly and packaging tasks. | After the Widdicombe family sent him a message via Linkedin, Mr Humphrey said he then contacted ex-prisoners who confirmed inmates had been forced into mundane assembly and packaging tasks. |
| Mr Humphrey - the author of the Sunday Times story - also said that censorship in the prison had increased, cutting off his usual methods of contacting prisoners he had met before his release in 2015. | Mr Humphrey - the author of the Sunday Times story - also said that censorship in the prison had increased, cutting off his usual methods of contacting prisoners he had met before his release in 2015. |
| "They resorted to the Qingpu equivalent of a message in a bottle, scribbled on a Tesco Christmas card," he said. | "They resorted to the Qingpu equivalent of a message in a bottle, scribbled on a Tesco Christmas card," he said. |
| It is not the first time that prisoners in China have reportedly smuggled out messages in products they have been forced to make for Western markets. | It is not the first time that prisoners in China have reportedly smuggled out messages in products they have been forced to make for Western markets. |
| In 2012, Julie Keith from Portland, Oregon, discovered an account of torture and persecution by a prisoner who said he was forced to manufacture the Halloween decorations she had purchased. | In 2012, Julie Keith from Portland, Oregon, discovered an account of torture and persecution by a prisoner who said he was forced to manufacture the Halloween decorations she had purchased. |