Gay couple win case against b&b

A gay couple have successfully sued the owner of a bed and breakfast in Berkshire after she refused to let them stay in a double room because of her religious views.

Michael Black, 64, and his partner John Morgan, 59, sought damages from Susanne Wilkinson after she declined to let them have the room at the Swiss Bed and Breakfast in Cookham in March 2010.

Both men were awarded £1,800 in damages.

Lawyers from Liberty, the human rights organisation, which has taken up the case, argued that under legal regulations it was unlawful for a person concerned with the provision of services to the public to discriminate against a person on the grounds of that person's sexual orientation.

Lawyers for Mrs Wilkinson had argued that a person offering bed and breakfast in their own home was entitled to refuse to permit people who were not married or in a civil partnership to share a double bed.