WHSmith apologises for selling The Protocols of the Elders of Zion

WHSmith has apologised for listing a notorious antisemitic books for sale on its website.

The company said it has removed The Protocols of the Learned Elders of Zion from sale, but other titles, including by Holocaust denier Stephen Mitford Goodson and conspiracy theorist David Icke, remain on its site.

The protocols is a notorious forged antisemitic tract purporting to describe a Jewish plot to achieve world domination, which has fuelled antisemitic conspiracies and violence.

A WHSmith spokesperson confirmed it had been removed, saying: “We apologise for any offence caused. We have strict guidelines on the books we sell and it is against our policy to stock books which incite hatred. This title appeared on our website through a direct feed from our distributor; it was not possible to purchase it and it was removed immediately as soon as it was brought to our attention.”

Other books still on its website include The Answer by Icke, and Goodson’s ‘A History of Central Banking and the Enslavement of Mankind’. Stephen Mitford Goodson once labelled the Holocaust “a huge lie.

WHSmith has been asked for further comment.