Must not say 'spic' instead of 'spick'

It is a wholesome campaign to clean up Britain for the Queen’s birthday – but last night a race row erupted over an unfortunate gaffe.

Posters and T-shirts designed to advertise this weekend’s Clean For The Queen drive mistakenly included a racist slur.

They were meant to show the slogan ‘Spick And Span Ma’am’ but instead used the spelling ‘spic’ – used in the US as an offensive term for Hispanic people.

Twitter users noticed the error last week. One asked: ‘Are you aware you’ve put a racist term on your asinine posters? You’re missing a k.’

Sam Taylor, editor of The Lady, said: ‘If they’re going to go around cleaning up the country they should start by cleaning up their language. It’s an unfortunate mistake and whether or not people are offended, they’ve used the wrong word. ‘I wouldn’t suggest they put it on a commemorative tea towel.’

Clean For The Queen was created by Country Life editor Mark Hedges and Melissa Murdoch, a charity trustee, to mark Her Majesty’s 90th by getting rid of the rubbish blighting our towns and villages.

Although it has no public funding, it has been backed by MPs including David Cameron. Michael Gove and Boris Johnson posed wearing the campaign’s T-shirts and holding litter-pickers, while Kirstie Allsopp and Ben Fogle also lent their support, as did Keep Britain Tidy.

Last night organisers denied the wording was offensive. Campaign director Adrian Evans said: ‘It is an ancient phrase, according to the Oxford English Dictionary, which suggests two options on spelling. Spic and span means neat and clean – which sums up our campaign perfectly.’

The OED states that ‘spic’ is only occasionally used, with ‘spick and span’ the most common spelling.

Spic is more often used as an ‘offensive name for a Spanish-speaking native of Central or South America or the Caribbean

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