The last bottle of HP Sauce was manufactured in the Birmingham factory where it had been made for over 100 years early this morning. US company, Heinz, who bought HP two years ago are now going to have it manufactured in the Netherlands. West Midlands MPs have protestested both against the closure of the factory (with the loss of 125 jobs) and its move to the Netherlands while retaining the trademark image of the Houses of Parliament (thus the name HP). Heinz say they will not be removing the image but some MPs want it banned from the cafeterias and restaurants at the Houses of Parliament. This recent HP advertisement also markets its ‘Britishness’ (although its more unsophisticated elements).
I will not use HP again so I will have to find my own recipe.