Pontins slammed for calling Irish Travellers ‘unwanted’

Surnames list & refusals says report

UK holiday park firm Pontins have come under fire for saying Travellers are “unwanted” at their resort.

A report by the Equality and Human Rights Commission uncovered the company had created a list of typically Irish surnames that were marked as “undesirable guests”.

It had various instructions to staff from senior management that they should refuse bookings.

Workers at the resort were reportedly trained to listen out for Irish accents so they could then identify and decline these bookings. Guests were also required to be on the voting register, which could impact Travellers who are less likely to be registered.

The commission believes that this amounts to multiple breaches of the Equality Act with Pontins having received an unlawful act notice from the EHRC as a result of the “multiple instances of race discrimination against Irish Travellers”.

Britannia, the company that owns Pontins, was contacted for comment on these accusations found during the investigation, the Irish Mirror reports.

The unlawful practices were initially reported to the EHRC in 2020 after a whistleblower reported the breaches of conduct.

The EHRC entered into an action plan with

Pontins to tackle discrimination in 2021.

However, the watchdog was forced to launch a formal investigation in 2022 after Pontins failed to comply with the terms of the agreement. Pontins is now required to produce an action plan by April 9.

Chris Mcdonagh from Friends, Families and Travellers, said: “It is deeply saddening that Irish Traveller people have become so used to hate and prejudice that the Pontins ‘blacklist’ did not come as a surprise.”

Baroness Kishwer Falkner, who leads the EHRC, added: “We remain deeply concerned about these discriminatory practices.”