UK Uncut, the organisation that occupied Fortnum & Mason’s store this year, is targeting what it calls “tax-evading” retailers Boots and Topshop, among other Arcadia-owned stores, for demonstration’s during the Christmas shopping period.

The group has set up a poll on Facebook and is using Twitter to encourage people to vote on which “tax-avoiding Scrooge or big-banking Grinch” should be shut down for as part of a Christmas Special to be held in central London on Saturday 17th December.

The two retailers feature on a list which includes banks Lloyds, HSBC and Barclays, as well as retail and telecomms company Vodafone.

So far Topshop and Arcadia have received the most votes and 283 people have voted in favour of targeting the retailer.  

A mission statement on UK Uncut’s website implies the action it will take will be similar to that adopted in previous protests, such as sit-ins. In March, protesters from UK Uncut attacked upmarket food and deparment store Fortnum & Mason during the TUC march against Government cutsProtestors occupied the store for around three hours while paint was daubed and windows broken. Topshop, Boots and Ann Summers were also targeted.

UK Uncut’s website says: “On December 17th, with only seven shopping days until Christmas, join UK Uncut’s shut-down santas and occupy elves as we hit the Christmas high streets and make sure that a company that has been naughty goes without this year.”

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