Ikea 'deeply regrets' use of forced labour

[Gerald]

Ikea is the world's largest furniture retailer.

Ikea has said it "deeply regrets" the use of political prisoners as forced labour in communist East Germany by some of its suppliers.

The Swedish furniture giant asked accountants Ernst & Young to look into the matter, dating back 25-30 years.

The study indicates that political and criminal prisoners were involved in manufacturing for Ikea suppliers.

It also said that Ikea representatives at the time knew that political prisoners were possibly used.

In the past Ikea had given contracts to the East German (GDR) government.

Former political prisoners of the Stasi, the feared secret police, said they worked on the furniture, leading to Ikea commissioning the Ernst & Young report in May this year.Those former prisoners may now expect compensation.Rainer Wagner, chairman of the victims' group UOKG, has previously said that Ikea was just one of many companies that benefited from the use of forced prison labour in the former GDR from the 1960s to 1980s.

The group is campaigning for compensation for many former prisoners, whom they say carry psychological and physical scars from the labour they were forced to do.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-20356945

Note: 16 November 2012 Last updated at 16:34 GMT