Marks and Spencer rebrands Midget Gems after claims name is offensive to people with dwarfism

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

They will now be called Mini Gems after a disability academic raised concerns about the use of the word "midget".

Dr Erin Pritchard, who has a condition that stunts growth called achondroplasia, approached a number of supermarkets and confectionary makers about changing the name.

The lecturer in disability studies at Liverpool Hope University said "midget" is seen as a derogatory term for people with growth problems and has previously called for the use of it to be seen as hate speech.

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M&S is the first to react to her campaign, saying it was "committed to being an inclusive retailer" as it rolled out the changed labelling.

A spokeswoman said: "Following suggestions from our colleagues and the insights shared by Dr Erin Pritchard, we introduced new Mini Gem packaging last year, which has since been rolled out to all of our stores."

Tesco has also announced it will be reviewing the name of its product, saying it is a "diverse and inclusive retailer" and would not want any of its products to "cause offence".

Following the announcement, Dr Pritchard claimed "a lot" of people were getting "upset" about the change.