'It is discrimination': UK's Holiday Parks chain bans entry of people with Irish surnames

Holiday parks chain Pontins in the United Kingdom has banned the entry of people with Irish surnames in an attempt to keep out the members of the Irish Traveller community in their park, AP reported citing UK equalities watchdog on February 3. The list of banned guests in Pontins was used internally and was displayed on a staff intranet site that contained about 40 Irish names. These names included Cash, Delaney, Gallagher, Murphy and O'Brien, reported AP citing I newspaper. Britain's Equality and Human Rights Commission said that Pontins was discriminating based on race. 

Irish people banned in UK holiday parks 

AP reported citing Britain’s Equality and Human Rights Commission said that the staff of Pontins refused or cancelled bookings made by Irish names or accent. According to AP, Irish Travellers are a nomadic group similar to Gypsy or Roma people but they both are distinct ethnically. Some of the Irish Traveller have lived for generations in Britain but they have suffered discrimination. They are a recognized ethnic minority in Britain. 

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Alastair Pringle, Britain’s Equality and Human Rights Commission Executive Director said it is “hard not to draw comparisons” with “the signs displayed in hotel windows 50 years ago, explicitly barring Irish people and Black people”. He added that banning people from services based on their race is discrimination and unlawful. Prime Minister Boris Johnson’s spokesman Jamie Davies told AP that said Pontins’ behavior was “completely unacceptable" and nobody should be discriminated in the UK based on race. 

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According to AP, Pontins was founded in the 1940s and was known for offering inexpensive package holidays by the seaside. At one time, the firm operated 30 Pontins site but now only 6 sites operate, reported AP. The equality commission said that Pontins owner, Britannia Jinky Jersey Ltd., had signed a legally binding agreement to end its discriminatory practices.