Supermarkets 'putting profits above human rights', MP says

Supermarkets in the UK that appear to be selling products linked to slave labour in China may be “complicit in putting profits above human rights”, a Labour MP has said.

Sarah Champion’s comments come after a BBC Eye Investigation found that tomato puree sold in four leading UK supermarkets appeared to contain tomatoes produced using harsh and coercive forced labour in Xinjiang.

Some of the products have “Italian” in their name others have “Italian” in their description.

All the supermarkets whose products were tested previously disputed the BBC's findings, while China also denies it uses forced labour in its westernmost province.

In an urgent question in the House of Commons on Tuesday, Champion described the UK’s product labelling as “weak and confusing"

The chairwoman of the International Development Select Committee also called for consumers to be given more information on which countries the product ingredients come from and stronger legislation to effectively ban the importing of products made with forced labour.

Champion said UK supply chains are "awash with Uighur forced labour products" because human rights due diligence is "optional" for British companies.

"To supermarkets, I say, all of you are complicit in putting profits above human rights and I hope the British public do the right thing and make their mark with their pocket, in their wallet," she said.

BBC Eye's Blood on the Shelves investigation found that a total of 17 products - most of them own-brands sold in UK and German retailers - are likely to contain Chinese tomatoes - testing commissioned by the BBC World Service shows.

Most Chinese tomatoes come from the Xinjiang region, where their production is linked to forced labour by Uyghur and other largely Muslim minorities.

The UN accuses the Chinese state - which views these minorities as a security risk - of torture and abuse.

China denies it forces people to work in the tomato industry and says workers’ rights are protected by law. It says the UN report is based on “disinformation and lies”.

Also commenting on the BBC Eye investigation was former Conservative party leader, Sir Iain Duncan Smith, who echoed Champion's call for an effective ban on such products backed by criminal sanctions.

Business and Trade Secretary Douglas Alexander responded to the debated in the House of Commons by saying he was concerned, the government was reviewing the Modern Slavery Act and would “approach the company in question to try to establish more clearly the exact facts that underlie those deeply worrying reports”.

Alexander added “we need to send a clear and unequivocal signal that no company in the United Kingdom that operates under the existing statutory framework should have any forced labour whatsoever in its supply chain”.

Monday's calls for new legislation comes after the Parliament Under-Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra) Baroness Hayman of Ullock said Defra was “looking at labelling as a way to better inform consumers”.