Easter removal from egg hunt ‘ridiculous’ – May

THERESA May has condemned as “absolutely ridiculous” a decision to drop the word “Easter” from a Cadbury and National Trust egg hunt.

The row involving the Prime Minister, the Church, the company and the National Trust came after the Archbishop of York criticised the chocolate giant over the naming of its annual egg event.

Some 300 Easter egg hunts will take place this year at National Trust properties, although the decision to refer to it as the “Cadbury’s Great British Egg Hunt” has provoked the ire of campaigners – as well as the Prime Minister, whose father, the Reverend Hubert Brasier, was vicar of Enstone in Oxfordshire.

Speaking from Jordan as part of her Middle Eastern tour for talks over security and trade, Mrs May told ITV News: “I’m not just a vicar’s daughter – I’m a member of the National Trust as well. I think the stance they have taken is absolutely ridiculous. I don’t know what they are thinking about, frankly. Easter’s very important. It’s important to me. It’s a very important festival for the Christian faith for millions across the world.

“So I think what the National Trust is doing is frankly just ridiculous.”

Cadbury, which was founded by Quaker John Cadbury in 1824, denied that it had removed the word “Easter” from its marketing and communication materials, while a Church of England (CofE) spokesman accused the National Trust of “updating” the page overnight and “seemingly adding a few (references to Easter) in”.

The National Trust described claims it had downplayed the significance of the festival as “nonsense”.

A spokesman said: “Nothing could be further from the truth. We host a huge programme of events, activities and walks to bring families together to celebrate this very special time of year. A casual glance at our website will see dozens of references to Easter throughout.

“Our Easter events include our partnership with Cadbury, which has been running Easter Egg Hunts with us for 10 years. They’ve proved consistently popular with our members and visitors. As part of its wider marketing activity at Easter, Cadbury will always lead on the branding and wording for its campaigns.”

Archbishop of York Dr John Sentamu accused the chocolate giant of “spitting on the grave” of its religious founder by removing references to Easter from the event.

Asked to respond to the comments, Paul Parker, recording clerk for Quakers in Britain, said its faith preferred to focus on the “every day” rather than specific festivals.

He said: “Quakers say every day is a chance for new beginnings for all of us, for love and forgiveness, restorative justice and joy.”

Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn said the issue reflected “commercialisation gone a bit too far”.

Speaking at the launch of the party’s local election campaign in Newark, Mr Corbyn added: “It upsets me because I don’t think Cadbury’s should take over the name.”