Pub chain Wetherspoon has been forced to pay £24,000 in damages after a group of people who had been attending an Irish Travellers’ confer­ence were refused entry to a Holloway Road pub.A judge ruled this week that the group, who had been attending a nearby meeting of The Traveller Movement, were discriminated against in the incident at The Coronet pub in November, 2011.At the Central London County Court on Monday, Judge Hand QC said the decision of the pub’s then manager had been “suf­fused with the stereotyp­ical assumption that Irish Travellers and English Gypsies cause disorder wherever they go”.Martin Howe, a solicitor who acted for the Travellers, said: “This judgment will shake to the core all those who engage in racist conduct towards Irish Travellers and Romany Gypsies.“The last bastion of ‘acceptable racism’ has come crashing down.”Tim Martin, chairman of Wetherspoon, said: “Wetherspoon apologises to the eight individuals who were denied entry and for any upset and distress this caused to them. In the light of the judgment, although we have always been fully committed to operating our premises in a non-discriminatory way, we will undertake a full review of our relevant policies, procedures and training.”

• Keywords
  RACE RELATIONS, PUBLIC HOUSES, TRAVELLERS (GYPSIES)
• Geographical keyword
  HOLLOWAY ROAD
• Persons keyword
  Holloway Road Coronet Public House