A UK pub that was reported for hate crimes before having its 20-strong golliwog collection seized by police has been banned by the Campaign For Real Ale (CAMRA)from receiving any awards or being featured in its Good Beer Guide.
Owners of The White Hart Inn will also reportedly be probed by police regarding far-right Facebook posts after license holder Christopher Ryley appeared to joke about lynchings in the US alongside an image of the dolls.
In a 2016 Facebook post, Ryley uploaded an image of the dolls hanging from the pub’s bar with the caption: “We have our golliwogs, yaay.”
Commenting underneath the post, his wife, Benice Ryley, asked: “Are you sure this is legal. lol” before Ryley replied: “They used to hang them in Mississippi years ago.” She responded: “Behave.”
Essex police confiscated the dolls over the Easter bank holiday weekend after receiving a complaint about an alleged crime. The pub’s landlords then shocked the public by replacing the offensive dolls with other golliwogs they had in their collection.
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Now, CAMRA has released a statement saying it found it “baffling” that the pub – which had previously won the South West Essex Camra Pub Of The Year awards – had chosen to display the dolls which are “offensive to many.”
In a thread of tweets, it then added it had instructed its South West Essex local “not to consider the White Hart, Grays, Essex, for future awards, or inclusion in our Good Beer Guide, while these discriminatory dolls continue to be on display”.
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It also revealed it had added a line to the entry in its current guide describing the pub, which said: “Note this pub has chosen to display items that are considered by many to be offensive.”
It continued: “We have had clear national guidelines in place since 2018 that no pub should be considered for an award if it displays offensive or discriminatory material on the premises, or on social media associated with the pub.
CAMRA believes pubs should be welcoming and inclusive places and it's baffling that any pub would choose to discriminate against customers or potential customers by continuing to display offensive material. 🧵👇
“We are currently discussing why this guidance was seemingly ignored by our South West Essex branch & instructing them not to consider the White Hart, Grays, Essex, for future awards, or inclusion in our Good Beer Guide, while these discriminatory dolls continue to be on display.”
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However, Mr Ryley in response told the BBC that “a mountain has been made out of a molehill,” claiming that the pub had received more support than abuse and was “still open and trading”, whilst Beth Ryley revealed that she had displayed the dolls in the pub for around a decade.
Other Facebook posts of concern from Mr Ryley also show him posting support for ‘White Lives Matter’ and asking ‘When is White History Month please. Anybody know?’
In another post, a golliwog has been uploaded alongside the caption: ‘Hello Great Britain Am I Allowed Back In?’
To date, no one has been arrested or charged by police in connection with the investigation but The Guardian understands that officers intend to question landlord Chris when he returns from the family’s home in Turkey next month.
It is believed the investigation is currently looking at whether there was an intention to cause offense by displaying the dolls, with another line of inquiry investigating if Ryley’s Facebook posts contravene the 1988 Malicious Communications Act.
His post has generated a fair bit of reaction already, with one person replying: “Ridiculous advice! Loss of a table for 4 ! Empty tables for 2! Over ordered and over staffed, this stupidly from someone who should know better must corrected. Every customer counts in this day and age.”
Someone else wrote: “The amount of people booking 2 venues this year and cancelling is on the increase too!! We are now taking deposits for groups over 6 to try and eliminate this! When space is an issue booking more than you need is not fair on the venues!!”
Another commented: “A table of 3 is actually sat on a table for four. So you’re denying the business of 50% of its potential turnover. Do not do this.”
Sacha Lord – Night Time Economy Adviser to Greater Manchester.
CREDIT – Darren Robinson Photography
Gregg Wallace apologises after Downing Streets labels ‘middle-class women’ comments ‘misogynistic’
Danny Jones
Gregg Wallace has issued an official apology as he looks to be in increasing trouble not only over recent reports of his misconduct on set but his subsequent reaction to the allegations and now viral “middle-class women” comments.
The 60-year-old MasterChef presenter and well-known foodie face stepped down from the BBC cooking show last week after a total of 13 people came forward to complain about his ‘sexual’ behaviour over the course of a 17-year period.
Despite having denied an initial accusation from a former female colleague regarding an incident back in 2018, in which insists no comments or actions of a sexual nature were made, a dozen more individuals have now submitted historical complaints to the corporation and a full investigation is underway.
However, in an Instagram story shared on Sunday, Wallace was quick to dismiss the claims made by what he called “a handful of middle-class women of a certain age” – a response which was quickly met with a severe backlash online.
Equally problematic was his suggestion that because he had worked with an estimated 2,000 people during his time on the show the words of “only 13” women were somehow less valid and/or believable.
Having also shared a video thanking all of those supporting him, as well as numerous other stories featuring personal messages from people both on and off the show defending him, he has continued to rebuke those who have put his conduct over the past two decades under a microscope.
That being said, it looks as though the now former TV personality and household name is doubling back after even Downing Street came out to condemn his comments, with a spokesperson for Prime Minister Keir Starmer labelling the response video “completely inappropriate and misogynistic.”
Having since deleted a number of his IG stories and now shared a follow-up video to his initial reply, telling his followers: “I want to apologise for any offence that I caused with my post yesterday and any upset I may have caused to a lot of people.”
He said that he was not in a “good head space” when he posted the response and has been dealing with a lot of stress since the story broke, adding, “I felt very alone.” You can see the clip down below.
As you see, the ex-green grocer and restaurant owner said he intends to step away from the story for now and let the in-house investigation move forward without interruption.
Both the BBC and production company, Banijay UK – who make MasterChef and the various spin-off series on which Gregg Wallace has served as a co-host – are currently conducting an internal review of those complaints made by former contestants and staff, including a BBC news anchor.
While none of the allegations are yet to be proved, one former male contestant reportedly told Sky News that the current allegations are just the “tip of the iceberg“, claiming he witnessed a “toxic environment” and was so “horrified” he considered quitting the show on his first day.
Georgina Pellant -
14th April 2023 
