Cosmetics chain criticised for its police campaign

COSMETICS brand Lush has been criticised after it launched a campaign accusing police officers of being “paid to lie”.

Many of its stores are displaying material associated with its campaign against “intrusive, abusive, political policing” with Lush calling for major changes to a public inquiry into undercover policing.

Its store on Cardiff’s Queen Street currently has white and blue boxes in the window with the slogans “Spied on for taking a stand”, “Spycops inquiry: truth or cover up?” and “Police spies out of lives”.

The firm has been criticised, with customers and supporters of the police calling for a boycott.

The firm, which has defended its campaign, is now being investigated by the Advertising Standards Authority and denied claims that it is “anti-police”.

In a response to a message on Twitter, a spokesman from Lush UK said: “To clear this up, this isn’t an anti-police campaign, it’s to highlight the abuse that people face when their lives have been infiltrated by undercover police.”

The hashtag #flushlush has now popped up on Twitter with people calling for Lush stores across the UK to be boycotted in light of the campaign.

Hannah Coombs wrote on Twitter: “If only people knew just how hard officers work and everything they voluntarily give up to look after the general public and (a lot of the time) face abuse from ignorant people who don’t have a clue.”

One man, who posts under the Twitter handle The Chopper Cop, said: “Apparently I’m paid to lie! Funny that, I thought I was paid to protect the public. This was very poorly thought out Lush. Take it down and apologise to the police family immediately.”

A police investigation – Operation Herne – was set up in October 2011 to look into allegations made against the Special Demonstration Squad, including using dead children’s identities.

Police were forced to apologise and pay out £425,000 to a woman who had a child with Special Branch detective Bob Lambert, who was working undercover and spying on a protest group of which she was a member.

A public inquiry into undercover policing in Britain is now taking place.

In a statement released on Lush’s website, a spokesman said: “This campaign is not about the real police work done by those front line officers who support the public every day – it is about a controversial branch of political undercover policing that ran for many years before being exposed. Our campaign is to highlight this small and secretive subset of undercover policing that undermines and threatens the very idea of democracy”.