The butcher caught selling foie gras in breach of Selfridges' anti-cruelty policy has been ordered to shut up shop.
The department store said Jack O'Shea had left because of hygiene failures. In December he was exposed by the Evening Standard selling the goose liver under the counter, using the secret code "French fillet".
Campaigners accused him of a "shocking betrayal" and he was escorted from the building in front of customers on Christmas Eve.
Today Selfridges announced it had terminated Mr O'Shea's contract. It said he had been warned after the foie gras revelations, which came two years after it had banned such sales in the wake of a campaign led by actor Sir Roger Moore.
Ewan Venters, director of food and restaurants for Selfridges, said: "It is regrettable we had to part company with Jack O'Shea. But if anyone puts the store's five-star health rating in jeopardy, they can no longer be part of our business - it is as simple as that." Yesterday was the butcher's last day of trading at the store.
Mr O'Shea is regarded as one of Britain's finest butchers and provides prime meat to London restaurants and chefs. He started trading at Selfridges in November 2008 and has sold to more than 200,000 customers.
The foie gras revelation came after a customer saw the product being sold. The Standard was then able to buy a 795g pack costing £39.40, said to have been imported directly from Paris.
During the sale one of the counter staff admitted it was against Selfridges' policy, adding: "We only get it in at Christmas time."
Today Selfridges said it had been working with the butcher since October amid concerns about the failure of Mr O'Shea's concession "to adhere to exacting best practice standards in hygiene and food safety".
It found there were "risks of cross-contamination between raw and cooked meat," and issues surrounding temperature control, sell-by dates and "lack of proven traceability" from outside meat suppliers. Friends of Mr O'Shea said that he prided himself on his animal welfare standards.
He could not be reached for comment.
