Yorkshire Tea has urged people to “be kind” after its staff had to field “furious accusations and boycott calls” when chancellor Rishi Sunak posted about the firm’s famous brew.
In a series of tweets on Monday, the firm has stressed to followers it was not “asked or involved” when the Tory minister posted an image of himself with a 1,040-bag pack of Yorkshire Tea on Friday afternoon.
“Lots of people got angry with us all the same,” it adds, saying staff were taken aback by the “nastiness” and “furious accusations” directed at the company.
The chancellor had said he was taking a break to make a cuppa for the team and there was “nothing like a good Yorkshire brew”.
Yorkshire Tea said it was “nothing to do with us” and “people of all political stripes like our brew”.
But scores of boycott threats followed, the company said today, adding: “We’ve spent the last three days answering furious accusations and boycott calls.
“For some, our tea just being drunk by someone they don’t like means it’s forever tainted, and they’ve made sure we know it.
“It’s been pretty shocking to see the determination some have had to drag us into a political mudfight. But it’s been lovely to see others speak up for us - we’re so grateful to everyone who’s done that in a civil way (and gutted to see some use it as a reason for more nastiness).”
The company also underlined that Jeremy Corbyn had posed with Yorkshire Tea before.
The person who manages the firm’s social media went on to say criticism of the firm “got a bit much” and urged people to “please remember there’s a human on the other end” when they post.
The minister, who represents Yorkshire’s Richmond, will deliver his first budget on March 11 after he was swiftly promoted by the prime minister when Sajid Javid resigned in the reshuffle earlier this month.
It came after Boris Johnson won an 80-seat majority in December’s general election, having secured scores of former Labour seats in the north and midlands, with a promise to “level up” the country.