UK: Gay couple say ‘it was right’ to take discriminatory Christian B&B owner to court

A gay couple from Cambridgeshire who were refused a room at a guest house say it was important to make a stand against discrimination.

Susanne Wilkinson refused to let Michael Black and John Morgan share the same bed at The Swiss Bed and Breakfast in Cookham, Berkshire, during March 2010, on the basis of her anti-equality Christian views.

She lost her case against the couple in October 2012 and both men were awarded £1,800 each at Reading County Court.

Michael Black’s partner, John Morgan, has commented on the decision of the Court of Appeal to reject Susanne Wilkinson’s case.

Mr Morgan told ITV News: “We were so sure that it was against the law to turn a gay couple away from a bed and breakfast or a hotel… that we needed to find out. Michael and I are quite long in the tooth and we’ve seen most things, and we feel it was right to take this case to court so that the B&B owners and the gay and lesbian couples know exactly where they stand.”

Mrs Wilkinson was granted permission to take her appeal to the Supreme Court yesterday.

A hearing will take place on 9 October.

It will be heard at the same time as that of a Christian couple in Cornwall, who also prevented a same-sex couple from sharing a bed at a guest house in 2008.

• Nov 29 2023

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