Riverboat firm that rejected reggae party denies racism

A THAMES riverboat charter firm has been accused of racism after refusing to rent out a paddle steamer to a group of men organising soul and reggae parties, citing “drug and violence” fears.

Four events promoters have taken Thames Luxury Charters Ltd (TLC) to court bringing claims under the Equality Act, insisting that they were denied access to services simply because they are black.

Terry Reid, Orlando Gittens, Patrick Joseph and Henry Agwuegbo each made bookings that were cancelled after TLC claimed to have experienced trouble on one of its boats during a soul music event involving Afro-caribbean promoters.

But the company denies discrimination, insisting that the parties were cancelled solely due to a change of policy and a decision to take a “more cautious approach” to bookings.

Mr Reid, who is spearheading the action, told Central London County Court that he had booked the Dixie Queen, a replica 19th-century paddle steamer, for a soul and reggae event in 2017.

But the company subsequently told him his party would not be going ahead, due to incidents on the Dixie Queen during an event weeks earlier.

He said: “Only events planned by promoters of Afro-caribbean or African descent were cancelled.”

But Harriet Fear Davies, for TLC, said the decision to cancel the events was a pragmatic move made for the good of the business and did not target Afro-caribbean individuals. The case will now return at a later date.