Friday, November 15, 2024

‘Great investers’: Misspelt poster latest blunder in bid to attract UK investment

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An official campaign to attract foreign cash to Britain has been left red-faced after misspelling the word “investors”.

A poster promoting the government-funded campaign, which is hanging outside the British Consulate in Hong Kong, reads: “Great Investers [sic] are creating a sustainable future.”

The poster continues: “As the first developed country to legislate for net zero by 2050, the UK is putting Clean Growth at the centre of its agenda. Discover where ambition meets sustainable growth.”

It is followed by the slogan: “We’re ready to trade with you.”

The huge poster, which flanks one side of the embassy’s entrance, promotes the “Great” Britain and Northern Ireland campaign, which is aimed at driving foreign direct investment to the UK.

The campaign, which operates in 145 countries worldwide, was set up in 2011 in the run-up to the 2012 London Olympics and brought more than £4.5bn of investment into the UK in its first decade.

The venture was revived in 2021 under Boris Johnson, who was prime minister at the time, with an annual budget of £60m.

It is thought that the offending poster has been hanging outside the embassy since at least January, when Rishi Sunak’s government was in power.

A Cabinet Office spokesman said: “The Great Britain & Northern Ireland Campaign is responsible for producing assets across the globe to promote the UK and will get this issue rectified as soon as possible.”

Sir Keir Starmer’s Government has suffered a series of blunders in recent weeks as it battles to attract foreign investment into Britain.

An invitation to Sir Keir’s flagship investment summit earlier this month misnamed Eric Schmidt, the former chairman and chief executive of Google and one of the most high-profile attendees, as “Ed Schmidt”.

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