Amazon has blamed a "bad actor" for racist abuse that appeared on multiple listings on its UK website. [Source: BBC]

Amazon has blamed a “bad actor” for racist abuse that appeared on multiple listings on its UK website.

The abuse, now removed, appeared when users searched the online shop for Apple AirPods and similar products.

It was unclear how long the racist language remained on the site, but it sparked outrage on Twitter and the sharing of screenshots and video grabs.

“We investigated, removed the images in question and took action against the bad actor,” Amazon told the BBC.

The company did not elaborate on the “bad actor”, nor give details of how many products were defaced and how long the abuse was visible on the listings.