The pub chain Greene King has paid thousands of pounds in compensation and apologised after admitting that 12 people were removed from one of its venues for being Irish Travellers.
The pubgoers were planning to watch the “Gypsy King” Tyson Fury’s WBC world heavyweight bout against Dillian Whyte in a north-east London pub in April. But the six members of the party who arrived first were told to leave, and the others not to bother turning up, because they would not be served.
“It is important to note this case is not an outlier; racism against Irish Travellers is rife in our society,” said Yvonne MacNamara, the chief executive of the Traveller Movement.
“We hope and expect that that this outcome will serve as a warning to other companies, and that Greene King’s future conduct will serve as an example of inclusivity and progress.”
The incident happened on 23 April this year at the Rose and Crown in Woodford. The Travellers, who wish to remain anonymous, made a claim of unlawful direct racial discrimination, via their lawyer Martin Howe of Howe and Co. On Tuesday, Greene King announced it had settled out of court.
“Greene King sincerely apologises to the 12 individuals who were discriminated against by a member of our team,” the firm said. “This behaviour is in contrary to all that we at Greene King believe in.”
Howe said that, when challenged about the decision to refuse them service, the member of the pub’s staff told his clients: “That’s what the company says, no Travellers”. He added: “[The staff member] also confirmed that the reason for the ejection was race, and accepted that the policy was discriminatory.”
A Greene King spokesperson said: “We want everyone to feel welcome in our pubs and we do not have any policy which discriminates against anyone, including Travellers.”
The firm said it has given the pub’s staff further training since the incident, and paid compensation to the 12 people involved – as well as covering their legal costs and donating money to the Traveller Movement at their request.
MacNamara said: “The Traveller Movement are pleased that Greene King have settled this cut and dried instance of discrimination, and apologised to the affected individuals. We hope that they now have the closure they deserve.” She said the organisation would “continue to act as a critical friend to the company”.
In 2020, Greene King was one of two major British firms to pledge to make payments to representatives of black people, as well as those of other minority ethnic backgrounds, as they sought to address their founders’ roles in the transatlantic slave trade.
