LONDON (AP) – A chain of holiday parks in Britain kept a list of “unwanted guests” with Irish surnames in an effort to keep out members of the Irish Traveler community, the British equality watchdog said Tuesday.
The list maintained by Pontins, which was displayed on a staff intranet site, included about 40 mostly Irish names, including Cash, Delaney, Gallagher, Murphy and O’Brien. News of the list was broken by the i-newspaper.
The UK Equality and Human Rights Commission said Pontins “directly discriminated on the basis of race” by refusing to serve guests from a particular ethnic group. It said the staff refused or canceled bookings from people with an Irish name or accent.
Irish Travelers are a traditionally nomadic group that resembles but is ethnically distinct from Gypsies or Roma. They are a recognized ethnic minority in Great Britain, where many have been living for generations and have long been discriminated against.
Alastair Pringle, the executive director of the equality committee, said it was “difficult not to make comparisons” with “the signs displayed in hotel windows 50 years ago, explicitly excluding Irish and black people.”
“Excluding people from services based on their race is discrimination and illegal,” he said. “To say such policies are outdated is an understatement.”
Prime Minister Boris Johnson 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 foreign holidays were rare, Pontins offers cheap package holidays by the sea, including accommodation, meals and entertainment. At the peak of the business, there were about 30 Pontins sites in the UK, but only half a dozen are still in operation.
The Equality Committee said Pontins owner Britannia Jinky Jersey Ltd. had signed a legally binding agreement to end her discriminatory practices.
Britannia Jinky Jersey Ltd. said in a statement that it “has agreed to work with the Equality and Human Rights Commission to further improve staff training and procedures to further promote equality across the company.”