Megrahi release takes Scots out of US tweed

Published on Monday 14 September 2009 00:44

THE makers of Harris tweed yesterday revealed that they have been forced to hide their origins in the United States, as they are terrified their credentials could damage their sales.

The traditional Scottish weavers admitted they removed all references to their homeland amid fears of an American backlash due to the release of Lockerbie bomber Abdel Baset Ali Mohmed al-Megrahi.

Instead a neutral image of a model in a tweed coat reclining against a plain background will be used to sell the distinctive clothing brand.

Mark Hogarth, the company's clothing director, said they had decided to focus on the brand's island heritage rather than its Scottish credentials for the launch of their new collection.

He said: "We were forced to rethink our American marketing campaign because of the backlash which followed the release of the Lockerbie bomber last month. We are not going to promote ourselves as a Scottish company as we would have previously done.

"We had hoped to increase the proportion of our US sales to double digits but that could now be seriously affected. We are quite worried."

He added: "From everyone we spoke to in the US, the feeling came back that a serious mistake had been made in releasing Megrahi. It really wasn't seen as a British decision in the media there, but a Scottish one. While in Scotland and in the UK as a whole there may be a sense of ambivalence about Megrahi's guilt, in the US they are very much as one."

The news comes as other traditional Scots companies report a drop in their American sales.

Jim Walker, managing director of Walkers Shortbread, said his company had received e-mails from American customers saying they would no longer buy its products due to the terrorist's release.

Around 10 per cent of the family-run company's sales come from the US.

He said: "The US is a very important piece of business for us and we just hope that people realise it is a decision made by the Scottish Government not the Scottish people.

"The whole situation hasn't done Scotland's image on the world stage much good."

William Glen & Son, the Callander-based retailer of whisky, kilts and shortbread, said customers had visited its store in San Francisco to ask for an explanation of the Scottish Government's decision to free the bomber.