Controversial Tesco posters spark diplomatic row

The Romanian embassy has reacted in the case of the posters placed throughout Tesco shops in the United Kingdom, warning against thieves in the Romanian language, writes Cristian Gherasim.

The Romanian Ministry of Foreign Affairs issued a press release saying that it disapproves “of this type of discriminatory messages, which does not reflect the real image of the Romanian community in Great Britain, well integrated and which makes a real contribution to the development of British society and economy”.

The Romanian side also said it has made all necessary requests to have the posters removed, mentioning: “In the letter to the company's management and local police, embassy representatives called for the immediate removal of discriminatory materials, as well as clarification of the circumstances and reasons behind their use.”

The posters reading “Hoții din magazine prinși for fi urmăriți penal” (Shoplifters caught will be prosecuted) were placed along aisles with expensive items, such as alcohol.

The posters were uncovered by Iolanda Costide (PNL Diaspora), an architect based in Great Britain and posted on Facebook. She later commented saying that “It is not worthy for a chain that presents itself as progressive in the service of people, such as Tesco, to allow ethnic profiling in its stores. Please kindly remove such posters from your stores. Otherwise, we will draw the attention of the Committee on Equality and Human Rights to your practices. "

Many people on social media lashed out against the campaign. Antonia Oprita, based in London said on twitter that “@ Tesco I have not heard back from you on this, I asked you to apologise to #Romanians for doing this. As a Romanian myself, I can tell you this is profoundly #racist. Why are you carrying out such a campaign in your stores?”

Social media 1

Another Romanian in the UK asked on social media “Did anyone find these posters translated in the other minority languages of the UK? Or did @Tesco just opt for the “language of thieves”?”

Social media 2

The posters showed across Tesco’s Telford branch, cautioned Romanian thieves of criminal prosecution. It was proven they were also used in 2019 and produced by the local West Mercia police department. “We’re sorry if these posters caused any offence – they have now been removed,” Tesco responded in a statement.

UK is home to home to some 500.000 Romanians.

Share this article: