Co-op supermarket chain to stop sourcing goods from Israel, Iran and 15 other countries

The Co-operative Group, one of the UK's biggest supermarket chains, will stop sourcing goods from Israel, Iran, Russia and 14 other countries where it says there are "internationally recognised" rights violations.

The Co-op, which operates about 2,300 grocery shops in the UK, has listed about 100 products which it will stop sourcing - including Israeli carrots.

The retailer has announced it will gradually implement its ban - which covers countries including Syria, Belarus, Afghanistan, Myanmar and Sudan - over the next month.

It said the list has been compiled based on "where there is agreement across respected assessments, such as by the UN and others, that there is consistent behaviour which would constitute community-wide human rights abuses or violations of international law".

This comes after members of the Co-op voted to remove Israeli products from its shelves last month.

Read more: Co-op supermarket chain to stop sourcing goods from Israel, Iran and 15 other countries