The LGBT wing of the UK Labour Party is demanding an apology after its members were evicted from a London pub. The group says it was subjected to homophobic abuse, then thrown out of the Greencoat Boy pub in Westminster, central London, because its banner 'caused offence to customers'. Members say during discussions, the bar's a manager revealed he would not have accepted their booking if he'd known they were a gay group. Complaints have been laid with police. The newly elected co-chair of LGBT Labour James Asser says thanks to 13 years of a Labour government, it is now illegal to be turned away from a UK bar because of sexuality. "The fact that our members were on the receiving end of homophobia is just wrong," he says. "We were surprised by the shocking action of the Greencoat Boy public house management. Turning people away for being gay is outrageous - he should have been defending his customers from homophobia." Punch Taverns owns the pub and has told BBC it has launched an investigation. A spokesman says it seeks to provide welcoming venues to everyone. "We are shocked and saddened that a group of our guests did not experience this and would like to apologise." "We would however like to stress that this is an isolated incident and is not representative of our commitment to diversity." LGBT Labour is seeking an apology, disciplinary action against the manager, training for managers on equality issues, a refund. It also wants a rainbow flag put up outside the pub on Pride Day, a "Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Trans people welcome here" sign displayed prominently on arrive for at least 28 days and a complementary event with an LGBT group of the company's choice.
Credit: GayNZ.com Daily News staff
First published: Monday, 7th June 2010 - 11:37am