Gun violence has been on the rise in the U.K. According to an article in The Guardian that was published in September, two out of three police force divisions in England and Wales are experiencing a rise in gun crime. Twenty-nine of London’s total 43 police force jurisdictions have seen an increase in gun crime, and in eight jurisdictions it has more than doubled. We may, but are not under any obligation, to release new functionalities and tools or other features for the Service every now and then. Any new functionalities, tools and features shall be part of and governed by the Terms from the moment they are launched and/or available. Further, we reserve the right to modify, change, discontinue the Service, add or remove features, update the Service, change its appearance, temporarily and permanently, at any time, in whole or any part thereof. Chair of the Independent Complaints Panel, Nicola Williams, said: “In light of rising gun crime in the UK, it is deeply irresponsible of an alcohol producer to glamorise firearms and market a product in this form. President of Coldiretti Ettore Prandini said: “The use of names alluding to the mafia is a business that causes serious damage to the image of Made in Italy by exploiting stereotypes related to mafia organisations, trivialising and quasi-normalising a phenomenon which has brought pain and grief across our country.” It comes after a complaint was filed and upheld by Portman Group’s Independent Complaints Panel by a member of the public.

The Service has been prepared by us solely for information purposes to Members and the Service is based on information we consider reliable and we obtain the contents of the Service from a number of different third party sources (including Contributions), but we do not endorse, support, represent, warrant or guarantee the completeness, truthfulness, accuracy, or reliability of the Services and any information therein. Each and every Member must be of legal drinking age in its country of residence to be allowed to use the Service. If no such law exists in a Member’s country of residence, the Member has to be over 21 years old to use the Service. We have the right to ask you to provide proof of your age and/or to provide further identification to prevent underage usage and/or for any other legal or legitimate purpose. By using the Service, and by creating an account you represent, warrant and confirm that you are of legal age. Should we receive a complaint about this product, it would be reviewed first by the Chair of the Independent Complaints Panel (Panel), who will then determine the next steps regarding how the case should proceed. Ultimately it could be referred to the full Panel for consideration.” Furthermore, in July 2022, vodka brand Jatt Life cancelled its sponsorship of The Cannon Run after a complaint was upheld over its failure to promote responsible drinking during the driving event. If we decide not to exercise or enforce any right or provision of these Terms, such decision shall not constitute a waiver of such right or provision.Nicola Williams, chair of the Independent Complaints Panel, said: “In light of rising gun crime in the UK, it is deeply irresponsible of an alcohol producer to glamorise firearms and market a product in this form. The U.S. has its own, graver issues with gun-related violence. According to Gun Violence Archive, there have been more than 375 mass shootings in the U.S. this year.

In April this year, the Portman Group upheld a complaint against Engine Organic Gin for claiming to have therapeutic qualities.There were multiple and clear signs this product was in direct breach of the code, and unfortunately follows a complaint for a similar product by the same producer, which the panel upheld in 2014.

It also said those who were directly affected by the actions of Cosa Nostra would consider the bottle seriously offensive. Bartex, the maker of Cosa Nostra whisky, had previously been subject to a rare 'retailer alert bulletin' for selling a vodka called 'Red Army' in the shape of a Kalashnikov.

Commenting on the decision, the Chair of the Independent Complaints Panel, Nicola Williams, said: “In light of rising gun crime in the UK, it is deeply irresponsible of an alcohol producer to glamorise firearms and market a product in this form. A complaint was upheld under that rule, with the independent panel finding the product’s bottle was in the shape of a Thompson ‘Tommy’ gun, creating a direct link between the drink and a dangerous weapon.