PRIMARK has banned a cap with the word 'hun' on it from its Scottish stores after it was told of its link to a sectarian slur.

The retailer said that the word was used as an abbreviation of the word 'honey'.

But it decided to discontinue the cap after it prompted a social media storm.

It came after an Irish journalist Aoife-Grace Moore posted a picture of a 'hun' cap found in a Glasgow city centre store and said: "This is a very very bad idea." 

A number of concerns were raised regarding the design with many suggesting that it could lead to sectarian abuse.

Rangers fans have been campaigning to have the use of the word 'hun' made illegal in Scotland following online abuse of pop singer Amy Macdonald two years ago.

The move was linked to an internet petition which says the word is a term of "religious hatred, a derogatory and sectarian term for a Protestant".

The Herald:

The campaigners say those using the phrase should be treated no differently than those who use offensive words to describe Catholics.

A Primark spokesperson said: “The cap features the popular and widely-used contraction of the term of endearment, ‘honey’.

"Any offence caused by this is wholly unintentional and we apologise.

"We know we have a responsibility to be alert to cultural sensitivities and have therefore taken the cap off sale in our Scottish stores.”

The campaign to outlaw use of 'hun' came after the word was used in a Twitter tirade directed at Macdonald after she criticised England footballer Stan Collymore in a row which began when he linked Rangers and Chelsea to right wing groups such as Combat 18.

The Herald:

The campaign petition, which had 2,274 supporters before it was closed, argued that the use of the word 'hun' is as offensive as the term 'fenian".

The organisers believe the word 'hun' is used as a "term of religious hatred, a derogatory and sectarian term for a protestant or those perceived to be protestant by supporters of other football teams".

Research carried out by communications regulator Ofcom in 2016 judged that 'hun', often used as a derogatory term for Rangers fans is deemed as “mild language, of limited concern".

The regulator stated that some respondents who were unaware of its use as an insult assumed it was an abbrevation of “honey”.

But in 2015, Celtic striker John Guidetti was censured over the singing of a song that featured the words "the huns are deid".

The Herald:

The SFA decision came after the Hoops star recited a song which contained the word at the end of an interview on Holland's FC Rijnmond football programme.

He was repeating a chant that is sung about him by fans.

He sang: "Oh John Guidetti, puts the ball in the net-y, he's a Super Swede and the huns are deid, walking in Guidetti wonderland."

The Celtic forward described the chant as "a good song".

The Rangers Supporters Trust, which previously called for the police to become involved over the song, said the SFA should have issued a tougher penalty.

The Scottish Government's 2014 Social Attitudes Survey found that 58 per cent found the term 'hun' in casual conversation was unacceptable, 12 per cent said "it depends", 14 per cent said the have never heard of the term used to describe a Protestant and eight percent found it acceptable.

More recent Social Attitudes Survey research showed that only eight to nine percent of Scots thought that the terms 'hun' and 'fenian' were acceptable. But nine in 10 Scots think sectarianism is a problem for the country.

What the fate of these Primark t-shirts will be, remains to be seen.

The Herald: