Fortnum & Mason forced to cancel Christmas hamper delivery - because it was going to North Korea

The luxury department store Fortnum & Mason has been forced to cancel a Christmas gift after they spotted the delivery location.

The London store every year sells thousands of hampers over the festive period, but an order from East Asia aroused suspicions.

It emerged that an order had been placed by a senior official in Pyongyang, the capital of North Korea.

The government official had attempted to purchase one of the store's famous hampers but was turned down.

Trade sanctions between Britain and North Korea meant that the £100 order had to be cancelled and it is reportedly the first time that an international delivery has had to be shelved.

CEO Ewan Venters said: "The order came through during the middle of the night and the trading manager was then alerted to the report.

"It was then manually intercepted and a decision was made to decline the order based on trading sanctions placed on the recipient country."

The hamper would have contained a cinnamon-dusted milk chocolate almonds and a bottle of Portuguese Dao Tinto red wine.

It is unknown who exactly placed the order, but with internet access heavily restricted in North Korea, it is assumed that a senior member of Kim Jong-un's government was behind the request.

Strict trade rules have tightened over the past few months following North Korea's continued missile and nuclear tests.

The most recent test came this week when a ballistic missile was fired towards Japan.