A free speech group claimed it was kicked out of a pub for saying children should not be taught trans ideology in schools.
About 50 members of Free Speech Brighton, a sister group of the Free Speech Union, were ejected from the Brighton pub on Tuesday evening.
It was claimed the boozer’s landlord took offence to one of the speeches about the teaching of gender ideology in schools and told security to kick the group out.
Heated scenes captured on video recorded the moment security staff ordered the group to leave – as furious activists protested, yelling ‘call the police’ and ‘this is Britain’.
After being booted from one pub, it is claimed the group was then ‘followed’ by security staff to another boozer nearby before being removed.
has approached the pub and security firm for comment.
Free Speech Brighton said it had pre-booked a back room in the first pub for a meeting, with microphones and speakers brought for members to make speeches.
Among those taking to the stand in the pub was a retired teacher who claimed ‘gender ideology’ – the belief that gender is not fixed and can differ from a person’s assigned sex at birth – should be banned from schools.
The activist, who spoke for about 15 minutes, reportedly argued that parents should be told what their children were being taught in sex education lessons and should see the material used in these classes.
However, as the woman in her fifties was speaking, five security guards entered and demanded the group to leave, reports the Telegraph.
Julie Raven, who attended the night, took to Facebook and wrote: ‘Tonight we went to a Free Speech Union meeting at a pub in Hove, a private meeting in a hired room.
‘We were quiet and well-behaved… Less than an hour in, a private security firm made us leave because we talked about gender reality.
‘They then followed us to our next meeting place in a pub and made us break up the regrouping of maybe ten people.
‘Absolutely amazed at the reality of thought-policing in this country right now.’
Footage shared on social media appeared to show a security trying to remove a microphone and speaker as a female member of the group finished her speech.
in the video, the guard can be heard telling the furious group that a ‘complaint’ had been made about they and the landlord wants them to leave.
‘This is private premises,’ the guard says while activists yell at him. ‘Now you have been asked to leave anyone refusing is now trespassing.’
One freedom of speech campaigner, who attended the event, said the speeches were about ‘safeguarding children against pervasive gender ideology’ and that activists were left seething with rage at being forcibly kicked out.
They added: ‘We left, shocked and angry, but this incident only underlines our concern that Free Speech is under grave threat when you can get kicked out of a pub – once a place for healthy banter- for saying the ‘wrong thing’. I wonder what other topics are verboten here?
‘I’m 58 and have never been asked to leave a venue before. Is this 1939 or 1984? – It certainly isn’t modernity, and we mustn’t allow it to become our future.’
Toby Young, director of the Free Speech Union, claimed the pub did ‘not have a leg to stand on’ in ordering the group to leave for expressing ‘perfectly lawful beliefs’.
‘From a legal point of view, it’s no different to kicking someone out because they’re black or gay,’ he told the Telegraph. ‘It’s unlawful discrimination, plain and simple.’
Speaking to , Mr Young said he would threaten the landlord with legal action unless the group receives and apology and is allowed to rebook.
He added: ‘Pubs should not be in the business of policing the opinions of their customers and have no right to kick them out because they express perfectly lawful views that the landlord disagrees with.
‘We do not live in Nazi Germany or Soviet Russia. Free speech may be under attack in this country, but it’s still legally protected. The Free Speech Union is here to make sure it stays that way.’