GINGERBREAD men have been banned from Scottish Parliament because they are "sexist".

The traditional biscuits sold at the cafe in Holyrood are now called "gingerbread persons" in a new scheme to stamp out sexism.

3 The gender-neutral biscuits have caused a stir in Scottish Parliament (file image) Credit: Getty - Contributor

The £1.45 iced sweet treats, on sale ahead of Christmas, featured a tag with the hand-written title “gingerbread person”.

But the move has been slammed by Annie Wells, equalities spokesperson for the Scottish Conservatives who called it a "pointless gesture".

She said: "Surely the Scottish Parliament has got better things to do than worry about what to call gingerbread men?

"This is an utterly pointless gesture which simply trivialises the real issues of gender equality."

Making Gingerbread Men gender neutral debated as Pret-A-Manger drops the 'man' from its version of the snacks

3 MSP Annie Wells has made her thoughts clear on the name change Credit: Getty - Contributor

Exasperated Twitter users also mocked the move, with one woman saying: "So we're not allowed to call it Gingerbread men anymore as Holyrood have banned them and came [up] with the name gingerbread person!!!

"It's not f***ing sexism, it's a bloody biscuit!"

The move came after it was revealed 30 per cent of women working there said they had been sexually harassed.

3 Scottish Parliament has stopped the sale of gingerbread men at its cafe Credit: Alamy

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New regulations issued by the bosses state that there will be a "zero tolerance" on sexist behaviour - after the party spent nearly £50,000 on anti-harassment classes for MSPs and over 1,000 staff.

It's not just Scottish Parliament that has opted for the name swap.

Thomas the Baker in York was slated for selling gender-neutral "gingerbread persons" with Twitter users calling the decision "ridiculous".

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