BBC MasterChef star slams UK high street chain for closing 104 shops and shutting website

MasterChef critic William Sitwell has slammed high street retailer Lush for "meaningless virtue signalling" after it closed all UK branches in protest over starvation in Gaza. The cosmetics retailer, known for its "garish" product names - raging from 'Honey I Washed the Kids' to 'Inclusion' and 'Diversity' bath bombs - closed its 104 UK shops alongside its website and factories last week. Posters in shop windows read: "Stop starving Gaza. We are closed in solidarity", and a statement on the website apologised for the inconvenience, but added: "Many of our customers share the same anxiety about the situation in Gaza".

Mr Sitwell did not sympathise with the firm's position, however, describing it as "the latest virtue-signalling festure from the store behind atrocities such as pumpkin spice shower gel". In a scathing column penned for The Telegraph, he said the best thing CEO Mark Constantine and his team could do "for the environment and countless parents" was "shutting up shop for good".

Mr Constantine said the temporary closure was not his idea during an appearance on LBC, but added that he supported the move despite a cumulative loss of £300,000.

"In the 30 years since it launched, Lush has churned out products," Mr Sitwell wrote. "Chocaholic? You can luxuriate in the shower under a coating of posh chocolate gel. A lover of mango? You can smother your body in a conditioner of mango kulfi. There are sprays so you can relish the feeling that your body is coated in sticky dates and a scented candle that smells of creme brulee."

"God forbid you walk past a Lush and the kids spot the heaving masswes of soapy bombs that lurk near the entrance, tempting one in," he added.

Lush called on ministers to stop arms sales to Israel and bring an end to "death and destruction" in the region as part of the one-day pause in sales. "The UK government is losing a day of tax contributions from Lush," its statement read.

The UK-founded retailer, which priced 102 million products across its 860 global portfolio, with a turnover of £690 million, has taken stands on issues before, including a boycott of social media apps in 2021, citing a negative impact on body image for young people.

It also launched a Watermelon Slice soap, with profits donated to the provision of mental health services for children in Gaza and the West Bank, which it said is among its best-selling products.

A spokesperson for Lush told the PA News Agency that staff were paid for the closure day.

"It feels important that we lift our voice first from here in the UK, however we know that sentiment across the international Lush business is strong and we expect similar actions may follow as other Lush countries seek ways to express solidarity," the company said.

The Prime Minister said last month that the UK will recognise a Palestinian state later in September unless Israel meets certain conditions, including addressing the humanitarian crisis, implementing a ceasefire and reviving the prospect of a two-state solution.