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Edinburgh Live
Edinburgh Live
National
Iuliia Vlasova

West Lothian MP praises Edinburgh Airport worker for tackling abusive passenger

A West Lothian MP had to alert Edinburgh Airport staff to a "horrible" man making homophobic comments about a fellow passenger.

Hannah Bardell, an SNP Member of Parliament for the Livingston constituency, took to Twitter to raise an issue of discriminatory remarks while praising a worker for taking action.

READ MORE - Edinburgh schoolboy left 'shaken' after attack as CCTV shows four men

When at the airport, Mrs Bardell noticed how a man nearby was making inappropriate comments directed at a young man - who was minding his own business - wearing a pink and peach tracksuit.

Mrs Bardell said: "I'm sure it doesn't take much to imagine the comments.

"These things can be subtle or made as jokes, but they are never acceptable."

Uncomfortable confronting the man directly, the MP went on to report the disturbing incident to a staff member after complimenting the young man's outfit loud enough for the offender to hear.

Mrs Bardell said: "Sometimes taking on people directly and getting in a confrontation doesn't feel safe or right. That's how I felt today, but I felt so angry. So I did what I felt was right.

"Homophobia is still a part of daily life and discourse, sadly - and I can only hope that the guy who made the homophobic comments is made to feel as uncomfortable as I and that young lad - in the stunning tracksuit - were."

Reflecting on the unpleasant experience at the airport, Mrs Bardell, who is a strong LGBT+ community supporter, said: "Part of me wanted to challenge him and go have a discussion with the man, but he didn't seem to be a particularly nice individual and also was a bit drunk.

Some of those views are so ingrained in the society and are so historic, and people have just not been made to understand how damaging and how upsetting these things could be."

A spokesman for Edinburgh Airport said: "Hannah did the right thing in reporting this behaviour to the Aspire Lounge staff. It’s clearly unacceptable and will not be tolerated at Edinburgh Airport."

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