LONDON (AP) – A chain of holiday parks in Britain has maintained a list of “undesirable guests” of Irish surnames in an attempt to keep out members of the Irish travel community, the UK watchdog said on equality.
The list maintained by Pontins, which was displayed on a staff intranet site, contained about 40 largely Irish names, including Cash, Delaney, Gallagher, Murphy and O’Brien. The newspaper and released the news of the list.
The British Commission for Equality and Human Rights said Pontins “directly discriminated on the grounds of race” in refusing to serve guests of a particular ethnic group. Staff were said to have rejected or canceled bookings made by people with an Irish name or accent.
Irish travelers are a traditionally nomadic group similar, but ethnically different, to gypsies or gypsies. They are a recognized ethnic minority in Britain, where many have lived for generations and suffered discrimination for a long time.
Alastair Pringle, executive director of the equality commission, said it was “difficult not to make comparisons” with “the signs displayed on hotel windows 50 years ago, which explicitly banned Irish and blacks”.
“Banning people from services based on their race is discrimination and it is illegal,” he said. “To say that these policies are obsolete is an understatement.”
Prime Minister Boris Johnson’s spokesman Jamie Davies said Pontins’ behavior was “completely unacceptable.”
“No one in the UK should be discriminated against because of their race or ethnicity,” he said.
Founded in the 1940s, when holidays abroad were a rarity, Pontins offers affordable seaside vacation packages, including accommodation, meals and entertainment. At the peak of the firm, there were around 30 Pontins sites in the UK, but only half a dozen are still operating.
The equality commission said Pontins owner Britannia Jinky Jersey Ltd. had signed a legally binding agreement to end her discriminatory practices.
Britannia Jinky Jersey Ltd. he said in a statement that he “agreed to work together with the Equality and Human Rights Commission to further improve staff training and procedures in order to further promote equality throughout its business.”