Ethical cosmetics retailer Lush has been rapped on the knuckles by the Advertising Standards Authority for claims it made about fox-hunting in an in-store leaflet.

Lush, founded by entrepreneur and environmentalist Mark Constantine, claimed that there were fox hunts that regularly flouted the ban, and that police failed to prosecute the law-breaking.

The ASA ruled that the statements were unsubstantiated.

Lush campaigns manager Andrew Butler told The Independent that the retailer was sure of its facts on fox-hunting and would continue running vivid and unsettling material for causes it championed.

Over the past three years the retailer has campaigned against the imprisonment of people at Guantanamo Bay, deforestation caused by palm oil and the catching of 100 million sharks a year to make shark-fin soup.

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