Balmoral Hotel apologises to cleric after forcing him to abandon ‘pro-marriage’ event

Rev Harry Coulter from Carrickfergus Reformed Presbyterian Church, issued legal proceedings against the owners of the Balmoral Hotel, in Dunmurry, for unlawful discrimination and breach of contract after the venue forced 60 people attending a pro-marriage meeting to halt their event. The meeting took place in October 2019.

Rev Coulter said the hotel staff claimed patrons – who were reportedly no longer even on the premises – were offended by the presence of the meeting and that he had been “humiliated” by the hotel’s treatment of him and his guests. But he now says he “wholeheartedly accepts” a formal written apology from the hotel in settlement of his legal action and would be happy to use it again. The hotel has also agreed to refund the £100 cost of the booking, and pay legal costs.

The legal action was backed by The Christian Institute which supported Ashers Baking Co. in their successful Supreme Court appeal after they were sued for refusing to bake a cake with the slogan ‘support gay marriage’.

Rev Coulter was managing the sound equipment for his Welsh guest speaker when a member of staff arrived and signalled that they wanted to speak to him.

“What a shock I got when they said to me - ‘This meeting must end immediately’,” he said.

“They said that they had had a complaint from some other customers about the kind of meeting we were having.”

Rev Coulter said the meeting was taking place in a private room at the end of a long corridor and that the customers had complained about a banner outside the door which urged against “the redefinition of of marriage”.

Rev Coulter told the staff he would be happy to go and explain the nature of the meeting to the customers that had complained. But they said that wouldn’t be possible because they have now left the building, but that they had left in “an agitated state” and they were concerned and for their reputation as a hotel.

”They said ‘we don’t take a side on this issue’ but they had spoken to the general manager who had instructed them to enter the meeting and to ask the meeting to stop immediately.

“I engaged with the two members of staff and said, ‘well we have about ten minutes to go, our speaker is about to go, we are just about to finish and then going to have some questions’ and they said ‘No’ this meeting must stop immediately. So eventually I got five minutes to round off the meeting.”

Organisers said they were discussing the evidence for marriage being defined as being between a man and a woman but did not discuss any alternative type of relationships.

”The front line staff were very cordial and apologetic but made it clear that the order came from the top management of the hotel,” Rev Coulter said.

He initially wrote to the hotel to express his disappointment. However the apology only came after he took advice from the Christian Institute and engaged a solicitor, he said.

“They have agreed to refund our money, and to pay legal costs. They have done right by us in the end and we appreciate it. In light of all this, I would be happy to book the Balmoral Hotel for future events,” he added.

In their formal letter of apology, the hotel says: “On behalf of the owners, management and staff of The Balmoral Hotel, I write to express our sincere regret at the level of service you received at your function held in our Grand Ballroom on 9th October 2019.

“As a hotel we have always sought to serve people without discriminating on the grounds of religion, belief or political opinion.

“We are therefore disappointed that on the night in question we fell short of that standard. As a result, you and your guests were prevented from fully expressing and discussing your beliefs about the law of marriage in Northern Ireland as part of your ‘Marriage Matters’ series. We recognise that the ability to respectfully debate issues on which we hold strong views is fundamental to freedom of speech for all of us.

“We also recognize that the particular way in which this was dealt with was embarrassing for you and inconvenient for your guests. I reassure you that this will never happen again.”

The hotel also promised to retrain its staff to avoid a repeat of the incident.

Simon Calvert, Deputy Director for Public Affairs at The Christian Institute said: “We’re delighted for Revd. Coulter that this brings a satisfactory resolution to an unpleasant situation. This is an important reminder that you cannot kick people out of a hotel for supporting traditional marriage. We’re confident that, had this case gone to court, Revd Coulter would have won his claim for discrimination. The hotel clearly understood this, and their apology is full and frank and they deserve credit for it.

“In the current climate of hypersensitivity over people’s opinions, the successful outcome in this case is a welcome restatement of the high value of freedom of belief and freedom of expression for all. It’s also a reminder to Christians of the importance of taking a stand and we are thankful to God for another victory to add to The Christian Institute’s long track record of successful cases.

“Rev Coulter’s meeting was a thoughtful discussion about marriage. The law firmly protects the ability to have those discussions and we need to have more of them, conducted with the kind of courtesy which Revd Coulter exemplifies.”

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