Bikers claim brewery ‘ban’

A brewery which recently barred swearing in its pubs is at the centre of controversy surrounding an alleged ban on motorcyclists.

A biker has claimed he was told that he would no longer be served at The Royal Oak at Ulley, near Rotherham.

The pub is owned by Samuel Smith’s brewery, based at Tadcaster in North Yorkshire. Samuel Smith’s, which has around 200 pubs in its business, recently banned people from swearing on its premises.

Motorcyclists claim to have been banned from The Royal Oak at Ulley, near Rotherham.

Thepub is owned by Samuel Smiths brewery, based in Tadcaster in North Yorkshire. The independent brewery, which has around 200 pubs, recently banned people from swearing on its premises – and now Biker Mark Smith has been told he will no longer be served at TheRoyal Oak.

“Before I even got to the car park a guy greeted me and said ‘we’re not allowed in, bikers are barred. I parked up and I am getting my gear off and a staff member came out to greet me and said ‘I can’t serve you, we’ve barred bikes’.”

He said a staff member told him the decision came from the brewery, and that no reason to bar him and other bikers had been given.

Euan Lawrence, from Black’s Solicitors in Leeds, said bikers were not a “protected group” under the Equality Act, meaning it is not against the law for the brewery to ban a group of bikers from its pubs.

“While many people would say ‘well in the plain English meaning of the word discrimination then yes it is discrimination. But for the purposes of the law and whether or not there is a remedy in respect of that discrimination – the short answer is there is not.”

We’ve contacted Samuel Smiths Brewery for further clarification and to get its official response to this story – but it has declined to comment up to this point.