China blames ‘lonely’ ex-prisoner for charity cards scandal

A Chinese official denied that Tesco charity Christmas cards were made by prisoners under duress and suggested the claims were a “farce” created by a former prisoner who was “lonely”.

Tesco withdrew the cards after Florence Widdicombe, six, from south London, found a message in a pack of cards urging the finder to contact Peter Humphrey, a British former journalist and corporate fraud investigator imprisoned in the same jail from 2014-2015 and who insisted he did not orchestrate the message.

Geng Shuang, a Chinese foreign ministry spokesman, said: “Shanghai’s Qingpu prison does not have this issue of foreign prisoners being forced to work.” He dismissed the story as “a farce created by Mr Humphrey”.

Mr Humphrey said: “I never had any possible way to fabricate anything...

This message from prisoners in China came in a Christmas card purchased by a family who I’ve never met.”

Humphrey said the message fitted “with everything I know, and I have spoken with ex-prisoners released this year who confirmed that that prison unit was making packaging for Tesco Christmas cards”. Tesco said it had suspended the Chinese supplier of the cards and had begun an investigation.