AMAZON has apologised for selling fake versions of Dame Deborah James’s Rebellious Hope t-shirt.
The shirt was designed to raise money for Dame Debs’s Bowelbabe charity for Cancer Research UK, but callous crooks were lining their own pockets with counterfeits online.
When Trending In The News brought it to Amazon’s attention last night, the retail giant removed the garments from sale.
A spokesman said: “Like many, we were saddened to hear of Dame Deborah James’s passing.
“We’re in the process of removing all products that make any suggestion of a link with Dame Deborah James or the related charities and apologise for any distress caused.”
Last night, fakes were still being peddled on some marketplace websites Etsy and eBay. Trending In The News also has contacted them.
It comes as pals of Dame Debs urged big-hearted Brits to push her BowelBabe fund past £10million as the ultimate “thank you”.
Inspirational Debs, 40, died on Tuesday and her total now stands at £7million.
Dame Debs’s original Rebellious Hope t-shirt was designed by her with In The Style, with 100% of the profits from each £15 garment going to charity.
A spokesman for In The Style said they had been made aware of the counterfeit versions being sold online.
The spokesman added: “Clearly this is awful, not least as it follows the sad news of Deborah’s passing. These items are not raising money for charity and are not Deborah’s designs – customers are unfortunately spending money on these products with the false belief that they’re continuing Deborah’s legacy.”
The t-shirts, emblazoned with Dame Debs’s slogan Rebellious Hope, were an important part of her final days.
She said previously: “Rebellious Hope is what has got me through the last few years. Seeing all your messages, tags and support has just been the best and I am so grateful that we have been able to do this together!”
