A disgusted mum is today warning people to be on the look out after she discovered an unwanted piece of advertising on a £10 note.
Cherrie Shepherd, of Farina Close, just off Bramford Road, discovered a British National Party (BNP) stamp on the bank note she had withdrawn from a cashpoint which read: “Know the truth - BNP.org.uk”. The 34-year-old, who is mixed race with family from Barbados in the Caribbean, said she had been “shocked and disgusted” by the discovery.
“This is not right,” she said. “People should not be allowed to get away with this. I am mixed race and it is offensive. I was just going to the bank to get my wages out, I earned the money, I don’t expect to have to see that on a bank note. Why should I have to look at their advertising on my wages?”
The money was withdrawn from the Lloyds Bank branch on the corner of Bramford Road and Chevallier Street on Tuesday. Miss Shepherd took the bank note back to the branch to ask if it could be taken out of circulation to prevent others being offended by the far right party’s message. But staff at the branch said all they could do was to swap the note.
Miss Shepherd, a sales advisor, said: “I feel disgusted by the stamp, it’s like we are living in another world. I am really concerned there may be more out there and I don’t want other people to have to see one. It is just not appropriate, they should not be putting things like that on our money. No one should have to be forced to see this kind of advertising on the hard-earned money they make at work. I had to explain it to my kids, they saw me upset and to have to tell them about it was really hard.”
Chris Mole, parliamentary candidate for Ipswich branded the stamp a “tacky gimmick”. He said: “I know it would be a mammoth task but I would hope that the Bank of England would want to take defaced notes out of circulation if they can. I am quite shocked, it is a new tactic and not a very clever one. It is an offence to deface the currency of the realm. You have to question whether this can be shown to be something the BNP has done officially.”
The BNP was unavailable for comment.
Evening Star
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