Thaindian News

London, April 22 (ANI): A Lesbian couple is suing a UK guesthouse owner who they claim turned them away for their sexual orientation.

Rebecca Nash, 22, and Hope Stubbings, 19, of Andover, Hampshire, claim they phoned up and booked a double room at the Brunswick Square Hotel in Brighton, but when they arrived the manager told them no rooms were available and that the hotel only accepted straight couples and families, reports the Daily Mail.

They were then ushered out of the hotel by the manager who allegedly became increasingly aggressive towards them, according to Liberty, which is funding their legal battle.

However, the hotel manager insists he had no qualms about their sexuality and only refused the two women a room because they were being ‘loud and abusive’.

Now Nasser Dean, 52, fears his guesthouse will be dragged into a high-profile political row by the gay rights movement.

It is the latest in a string of cases of gay people being turned away from hotels.

But unlike some others, in which Christian owners have refused gay people a room on principled grounds, Dean said he has nothing against homosexual guests.

“I never ask if my guests are gay, it’s none of my business. If I had a problem with it, I wouldn’t have come to Brighton [known as the gay capital of Britain] or stayed in business here for 22 years,” he said.

“I have never had trouble like this before. It is very upsetting. The only time we send people away is if they are loud or hooligans. I run a quiet hotel and these girls were not quiet, so I did not want them disturbing other guests,” he added.

Dean claims the women never actually made a booking, but had merely phoned to inquire if a room was available before showing up a couple of hours later.

However, the women, both office workers, tell a different story.

Liberty claims the women were unable to find other accommodation and had to go home, losing out on their weekend away in October. Liberty is bringing proceedings against the hotel on the couple’s behalf on the grounds they were discriminated against contrary to the Equality Act 2010. (ANI)