Essex pub where golly dolls seized by police is struck from Camra's Good Beer Guide
A pub where golly dolls were seized by police has been banned from receiving awards or being in beer guides by the Campaign For Real Ales (Camra).
The White Hart Inn in Grays in Essex has had its entry in the Good Beer Guide deleted and it will not be considered for any further guides, the organisation said, as it was being run "in a way counter to Camra’s values and policies".
Five police officers seized a collection of the dolls, which are based on 18th-Century minstrels and now regarded as racist caricatures, from the pub on 4 April as part of an investigation into an allegation of hate crime reported on 24 February.
In a series of tweets, Camra said: “Following discussions with the branch and our volunteer leadership [Wednesday] evening, the White Hart’s entry in the Good Beer Guide has been deleted and will not be submitted for forthcoming guides while the pub continues to be operated in a way counter to Camra’s values and policies.
“Camra’s What Pub, which is a directory of all pubs, rather than a recommendation of quality, will continue to list the pub, but full details have been removed.”
An entry about the White Hart on the What Pub section of the website said the pub was operating in a way counter to Camra’s values and policies.
It said the White Hart “has chosen to display material which is discriminatory and offensive” and its full listing has been removed while the issue is investigated.
The campaign group added the pub should not be considered for future awards “while these discriminatory dolls continue to be on display”.
Following the seizure, a source close to Home Secretary Suella Braverman said she had contacted the force to express her unhappiness about the incident - a claim the force said was "categorically not true".
Chris Ryley, who runs the pub with his wife Bernice, told the BBC that “a mountain has been made out of a molehill”.
He added that the dolls were “part of our history” and said the pub was receiving more support than abuse and it was still open and trading.
Mr Ryley also told the broadcaster that the pub was used by South West Essex Camra and Thurrock Beer Festival for meetings.
The PA news agency has contacted the White Hart pub for further comment.
Benice Ryley previously said she had displayed the collection of around 30 dolls, donated by her late aunt and customers, in the pub for nearly 10 years.
She told the PA news agency: “They’re my childhood history, it’s a part of our inheritance. I can’t see any harm. I really am angry because what they’ve taken away is valuable.”
Mrs Ryley hit back at allegations of racism, saying the pub frequently hosted Indian weddings, and said she did not understand how people could be offended by the dolls.
She added: “If they don’t like it, they don’t have to come through the door.”
No arrests have been made.
On Thursday, policing minister Chris Philp said it was “up to police to decide how they respond to incidents” when asked whether it was necessary for five officers to remove dolls considered to be racist from a pub when quizzed on LBC.
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