Marks and Spencer has been forced to apologise for labelling a range of crop tops for girls as young as 6 as “bra tops”. Its website described the product as “a great way of getting girls used to the idea of wearing a bra.”

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But the online description has been changed as campaigners and children’s charities worried by the sexualisation of young girls, raised questions about the product.

“We’ve campaigned to combat a trend towards the sexualisation of children and one aspect of this is the production and selling of clothes that are absolutely inappropriate,” said Claude Knights, from childrens’ charity Kidscape.

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Primark removed a range of padded bras aimed at young girls recently amid scrutiny. Marks and Spencer denies the top is inappropriate and has simply relabelled the item. “The garment is designed to be worn under clothing and doesn’t feature any support or padding which makes it totally appropriate for its intended age range,” said a spokesman for the store.

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