Ex-MP Fiona Onasanya attacks Kellogg's cereal box 'racism'

The monkey and elves feature on boxes of Kellogg's breakfast cereals

An ex-MP has questioned breakfast foods giant Kellogg's over its use of a monkey and "white boys" on cereal boxes, suggesting it is racist.

Fiona Onasanya, who was jailed for lying to police about speeding, spoke about her concerns on Twitter.

"So I was wondering why Rice Krispies have three white boys representing the brand and Coco Pops have a monkey?", the former Peterborough MP wrote.

Kellogg's said the company "stands in support of the black community".

Ms Onasanya, who was expelled from the Labour Party and lost her seat in Parliament in 2019, wrote on Twitter that she had emailed Kellogg's about her concerns, but had not had a reply.

Tweeting to @KelloggsUK [which is not the official Twitter feed for the company] she wrote: "... As you are yet to reply to my email - Coco Pops and Rice Krispies have the same composition (except for the fact CP's are brown and chocolate flavoured)... so I was wondering why Rice Krispies have three white boys representing the brand and Coco Pops have a monkey?"

Fiona Onasanya was jailed last year for perverting the course of justice

Her tweet was widely ridiculed, with a number of people pointing out the "three white boys" were "elves".

One person tweeted: "Elves lifes matter".

Another wrote: "I grew up with Coco Pops and Rice Krispies. I never once wondered that. Some of us can tell the real world from the imaginary one."

The monkey also features on the company's white chocolate Coco Pops - which are not brown

Many people pointed out the "white boys" on Rice Krispies are "elves"

However, Ms Onasanya responded on Twitter: "Well, given John Harvey Kellogg co-founded the Race Betterment Foundation (the Foundation's main purpose was to study the cause of and cure for "race degeneracy"), it would be remiss of me not to ask...."

Kellogg's pointed out its founder was William Keith Kellogg, "who was a pioneer in employing women in the workplace and reaching across cultural boundaries".

In a statement the company said "We do not tolerate discrimination."

The monkey mascot was created in the 1980s "to highlight the playful personality of the brand", a spokeswoman said, adding it also had "tigers, giraffes, crocodiles, elves and a narwhal" on its cereal boxes.

Ms Onasanya was convicted of perverting the course of justice and was jailed for three months in January 2019.