Asda withdraws 'mental patient' Halloween costume

http://www.theguardian.com/business/2013/sep/26/asda-mental-patient-costume

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Asda has apologised and agreed to make a payment to charity after it marketed a Halloween outfit as a "mental patient fancy dress costume".

Images of the costume, now withdrawn from sale, went viral and thousands reacted angrily on Twitter, accusing the supermarket chain of trivialising and stigmatising mental illness.

The product details stated: "Every one will be running away from you in fear in this mental patient fancy dress costume.

"Comprising a torn bloodstained shirt, bloodstained plastic meat cleaver and gory face mask, it's a terrifying Halloween option."

Alastair Campbell, the former spokesman for Tony Blair and a mental health campaigner, tweeted: "What possesses these people?" Asda said it removed the item from its website as soon as it received a complaint. Spokeswoman Leah Spears said: "We received a complaint this morning about the name of a fancy dress outfit. We would never want to offend even one person and so we removed it from our website immediately. It was removed 10 minutes after we received the complaint.

"This was an unacceptable error. We'd like to offer our sincere apologies for the offence it caused. We take our responsibilities very seriously which is why we will make a sizable donation to Mind." <strong> </strong>

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