Cadbury Easter egg row: Theresa May hits out at National Trust for egg hunt name change

Row: Cadbury, the National Trust, the Church of England and now the PM are embroiled in a row.
Shutterstock
Francesca Gillett4 April 2017

Theresa May branded the National Trust "ridiculous" in a row over the name of an Easter egg hunt.

Chocolate maker Cadbury's is set to run 300 hunts at National Trust sites, but removed the word 'Easter' from the name of the event.

The events are being billed as the "Cadbury's Great British Egg Hunt".

But the Prime Minister hit out at the branding, telling ITV News: "I'm not just a vicar's daughter - I'm a member of the National Trust as well.

Criticism: the Prime Minister waded into the row
AP

"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."

The Archbishop of York - the second highest church leader in the UK - was the first to slam the chocolate brand for “spitting on the grave” of its founder John Cadbury, who was a religious man.

Dr John Sentamu criticised Cadbury and the National Trust for their jointly-organised Easter egg hunt, which he claimed was devoid of references to Christianity.

But the National Trust said the claims were “simply not true” and any suggestion it was downplaying Easter’s religious significance was “nonsense”.

Row: Dr John Sentamu has been embroiled in a row with Cadbury and the National Trust.
PA

Cadbury, whose founder Mr Cadbury was a Quaker, said that people “from all faiths and none” are invited to enjoy their seasonal treats.

Dr Sentamu told the Daily Telegraph: "To drop Easter from Cadbury's Easter Egg Hunt in my book is tantamount to spitting on the grave of Cadbury."

Three hundred Easter egg hunts are being planned at National Trust properties this year. The National Trust's website page about the hunts make several references to Easter.

Cadbury's website also mentions "Easter fun" when describing the hunts.

A National Trust spokesman said: "It's nonsense to suggest the National Trust is downplaying the significance of Easter. 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.

"Our Easter events include our partnership with Cadbury's, 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's will always lead on the branding and wording for its campaigns."

A Cadbury spokeswoman echoed the trust's denial and said: "It is simply not true to claim that we have removed the word 'Easter' from our marketing and communication materials.

"Each year our Easter campaigns have a different name and this year our seasonal campaign is called the Cadbury's Great British Egg Hunt.

"It is clear to see that within our communications and marketing we clearly state the word Easter and include it in a number of promotional materials, including our website, where we do also promote our partnership with National Trust at this seasonal time of year."

Easter is the biggest festival in the Christian calendar and marks when Jesus was said to have resurrected from the dead following his crucifixion.

Last month Cadbury was forced to correct scores of angry customers who cited fake reports that the recipe for chocolate Easter eggs had been changed to be halal.

Far-right groups had spread claims the chocolate had been made according to Islam’s religious law, without realising chocolate does not contain slaughtered animals so is naturally suitable for those who eat halal.

Create a FREE account to continue reading

eros

Registration is a free and easy way to support our journalism.

Join our community where you can: comment on stories; sign up to newsletters; enter competitions and access content on our app.

Your email address

Must be at least 6 characters, include an upper and lower case character and a number

You must be at least 18 years old to create an account

* Required fields

Already have an account? SIGN IN

By clicking Create Account you confirm that your data has been entered correctly and you have read and agree to our Terms of use , Cookie policy and Privacy policy .

This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply.

Thank you for registering

Please refresh the page or navigate to another page on the site to be automatically logged in