CHOCOLATE giant Cadbury and The National Trust have both come under fire this morning after dropping the word 'Easter' from this year's egg hunts. 

The row involving the Prime Minister, the Church, the company and the National Trust came after the Archbishop of York criticised Cadbury over the naming of its annual egg event.

Some 300 Easter egg hunts will take place this year at National Trust properties, although the decision to refer to it as the 'Cadbury's Great British Egg Hunt' has provoked the ire of campaigners - as well as the Prime Minister, whose father, the Reverend Hubert Brasier, was vicar of Enstone in Oxfordshire.

Prime Minister Theresa May has been reported as saying: "I'm not just a vicar's daughter - I'm a member of the National Trust as well.

"I think the stance they have taken is absolutely ridiculous. I don't know what they are thinking about frankly.

"Easter's very important. It's important to me. It's a very important festival for the Christian faith for millions across the world. So I think what the National Trust is doing is frankly just ridiculous."

Archbishop of York Dr John Sentamu accused the brand of 'spitting on the grave' of its religious founder by removing references to Easter from the the spring event it runs nationwide.

Cadbury, which was founded by Quaker John Cadbury in 1824, makes reference to Easter in relation to the hunt in several places on their website.

But the word does not feature in the logo for the event.

The Press Association has also reported a Church of England (CofE) spokesman accused the National Trust of 'updating' the page overnight and 'seemingly adding a few (references to Easter) in'.

Northwich Guardian:

Taken from the National Trust website as Theresa May said it was an 'absolutely ridiculous' decision to drop the word Easter from the egg hunt. Credit: PA

A National Trust spokesman said: "It's nonsense to suggest the National Trust is downplaying the significance of Easter. Nothing could be further from the truth.

"We host a huge programme of events, activities and walks to bring families together to celebrate this very special time of year.

"A casual glance at our website will see dozens of references to Easter throughout.

"Our Easter events include our partnership with Cadbury's, which has been running Easter egg hunts with us for 10 years.

"They've proved consistently popular with our members and visitors. As part of its wider marketing activity at Easter, Cadbury's will always lead on the branding and wording for its campaigns."

A Cadbury spokeswoman said: "It is simply not true to claim that we have removed the word 'Easter' from our marketing and communication materials.

"Each year our Easter campaigns have a different name and this year our seasonal campaign is called the Cadbury's Great British Egg Hunt.

"It is clear to see that within our communications and marketing we clearly state the word Easter and include it in a number of promotional materials, including our website, where we do also promote our partnership with National Trust at this seasonal time of year."