Pubs that discriminate against Travellers set to face carnage in the courts?
154 Traveller discrimination cases set to be heard in the civil courts with 15 already decided in favour of the Traveller claimants
154 court cases against pubs and restaurants - including some of the biggest brand names in the UK - that have allegedly discriminated against Travellers and refused to serve them are set to be heard in the civil courts over the following months – the Travellers Times can be the first news organisation to reveal.
The cases will be heard in batches by the same judge at the Royal Courts of Justice in Central London in batches, with 15 already decided in favour of the Traveller claimants on June 5th earlier this month, and another five or six heard on June 10th, with the Traveller claimants losing those on a legal technicality.
In those first 15 cases, Judge Le Bas awarded damages totalling £202,500 to the Travellers involved.
The news was first reported on the Gypsy Traveller League Facebook page by founder John Reilly, who has been working with the Traveller claimants to challenge the discrimination through the courts.
John Reilly told the Travellers Times that his organisation had acted as a clearing point for Travellers who had been discriminated against and who had video evidence of that, and that the organisation would then try to find law firms to represent the victims and take the discriminating venues to court.
“I get three or four Travellers contact me every day about being refused service,” said John Reilly.
In response to questions raised in the media that some of the pubs and restaurants due to be challenged in court had been deliberately targeted by groups of Travellers.
“The judge covered that in the first hearing, he said that he was not interested in reading news reports in court,” said John Reilly.
“If the pubs had not discriminated against Travellers they wouldn’t have ended up in court – it’s as simple as that,” added John Reilly.
The next tranche of discrimination hearings was then heard at the Royal Courts of Justice on Tuesday June the 10th, but the claimants lost on a legal technicality, with the Travellers representing themselves without an official lawyer.
The Travellers Times had rushed along to this hearing to try to find out what was going on.
Outside the court, The Travellers Times briefly spoke to Howe & Co senior lawyer Mark Collins, who appeared to be there as an advisor rather than a formal legal representative, who said: “There are another 154 cases listed, they are very strong cases, they all have legal representation, and we expect to win them all.”
Howe & Co are the law firm famous for representing the claimants in a landmark Traveller discrimination win against JD Wetherspoons in 2015.
The Travellers Times has approached Howe & Co for comment and background as we strive to cover what could be one of the biggest series of legal victories for Travellers discriminated against by racist venues - ever.
“I am fighting to make sure my beautiful little child doesn’t have to go through the same discrimination we’ve all faced for generations,” said John Reilly.
The next batch of Traveller discrimination hearings are due to be heard in the Royal Courts of Justice buildings some time in late July, the Travellers Times understands.
TT News
(Lead photograph: John Reilly holds up his child outside the Royal Courts of Justice on June 10th, 2025)