Members of the nationalist pressure group The Scottish Resistance picketed the Tunnock’s factory in Uddingston, following reports the manufacturer had added the union flag and the words “made in Great Britain” to the packaging of wafers exported to Japan.
Billed as The Boyd Tunnock Teacake Party Protest Against Union Joke Wafers on the Scottish Resistance Facebook page, the group accused Tunnock’s of abandoning its Scottish roots.
‘Abandoned their Scottish roots’
“Once they were a Scottish company who promoted their Scottish identity – now they do all they can to promote themselves as a Brit company they have abandoned their Scottish roots. It’s now up to us Scots to abandon their Brit biscuits – leave them on the shelf.”
However, a Tunnock’s spokesman said the packaging design for its products exported to Japan had incorporated the union flag for more than 40 years.
“To put the record straight, the flag has been on the box since 1970 along with the Lion Rampant,” said the spokesman.
“The union flag was specifically requested in 1970 by our customer in Okinawa as it is a symbol to show an ‘imported premium product’ within the Japanese market place. We are proud to be Scottish and hope this clarifies the issue.”
‘Imported premium product’
A smaller group of British nationalist supporters confronted protestors, waving union flags and taunting Scottish resistance members.
It was the second time that the Scottish Resistance has protested outside Tunnock’s Uddingston factory. Last year saw the group take offence to an advert for Tunnock’s teacakes that appeared on the London Underground, which carried the slogan “the Great British Teacake”.
Meanwhile, Tunnock’s workers will receive an 8.7% pay rise over two years, the Unite union has revealed.
Pay rises of about £1,500 were negotiated for most full-time workers at the Lanarkshire firm, claimed the union. The salary boost would help workers negotiate growing inflation, it added.