HP brown sauce famously features the Houses of Parliament on its label and the announcement that its US owner Heinz wants to close the plant in Birmingham and move production to Holland has prompted an Early Day Motion amendment from Bury St Edmunds MP David Ruffley.
The sauce has been made in Birmingham for 103 years and the move will result in the loss of 125 jobs. As a consequence, David Ruffley MP is calling for HP to be removed from the Parliamentary Estate and replaced with a British sauce, made in Bury St Edmunds.
David Ruffley MP says: 'I am urging the Administration Committee to remove HP Sauce from the Parliamentary Estate and replace it with British produced Branston Brown Sauce. Branston which is exported to 70 countries is made in Bury St Edmunds by Premier Foods and deserves the support of the Palace of Westminster. Branston would also consider ensuring that the Houses of Parliament image is continued on bottles of Branston Brown Sauce. If Heinz want to go abroad to make HP, that's up to them. But they should lose the right to supply the House of Commons which should replace them with excellent British Branston Brown Sauce, produced in Bury St Edmunds.'
Sue Knight of Branston Brown Sauce says: 'Branston would be delighted to supply the House with a 'Proper' British brown sauce on demand. We know how close British-produced Branston is to the hearts of the nation. If HP is asked to remove the Houses of Parliament from its label, we would certainly be willing to consider having this proud symbol of democracy on our Branston brown sauce bottle.'
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