Girl finds ‘slave’ plea in Tesco card from China
TESCO last night halted production of charity Christmas cards at a factory in China after a little girl found a desperate message from a “slave” worker written inside one.
The note, found by six-year-old Florence Widdicombe, was allegedly written by prisoners in Shanghai claiming they were “forced to work against our will”, and asking for help.
The card, featuring a kitten in a Santa hat, said: “We are foreign prisoners in Shanghai Qingpu prison China. Forced to work against our will.
“Please help us and notify human rights organisation.”
It asked whoever found the message to contact Peter Humphrey, a British journalist who was imprisoned there four years ago.
It was reported inmates had been used to pack Tesco cards and tags for at least two years.
A Tesco spokeswoman said: “We were shocked by these allegations and immediately halted production at the factory launched an investigation.
“We would never allow prison labour in our supply chain. If evidence is found we will permanently de-list the supplier.”
Florence, from Tooting, south London, was writing cards to and schoolfriends. She said: “I felt a bit shocked.
“About on my sixth or eighth card, somebody had already written in it.”
Her father Ben said he felt “incredulity” and thought it was a “prank” when he read the message. He said: “On reflection we realised it was actually potentially quite a serious thing, so I felt very shocked, but also a responsibility to pass it on to Peter Humphrey, as the author asked me to do.”
Mr Humphrey told the BBC: “I spent two years in captivity in Shanghai between 2013 and 2015 and my final nine months of captivity was in this very cell block where this message has come from.
“So this was written by some of my cellmates from that period who are still there.”
He said the cell block of foreign prisoners houses about 250 people, with 12 to each cell.
Mr Humphrey said he believes those who wrote the note “knew very well what risks they were taking and they were prepared to take this risk”.
If found they he said.
Tesco donates £300,000 each year from the sale of the cards to the British Heart Foundation, Cancer Research UK and Diabetes UK. could be punished,
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