Marks and Spencer cancels Midget Gems sweets after campaigner brands term 'offensive'

Marks and Spencer has rebranded its popular Midget Gems sweets to avoid offending people with dwarfism.

Dr Erin Pritchard, a lecturer in disability studies at Liverpool Hope University, successfully campaigned for the name to be changed to Mini Gems.

However Dr Pritchard, who herself has achondroplasia, a condition which stunts growth, has since been mercilessly trolled online for being “woke”.

She told The Standard: “I think it is important to change the name as most people with dwarfism find the term offensive.

“There are responses on Twitter from average-sized people who seem to have no awareness about dwarfism. They don’t know that for years people with dwarfism have criticised the term midget.

“I am shocked by the backlash and abuse I have received for simply wanting a pack of sweets to not include an offensive term.

“The irony is that their abuse and the names that I’ve been called, including midget, just show why it is important to remove that term from use in general society.”