Cleric sues hotel over marriage event row

Rev Harry Coulter says he booked a conference room at the Balmoral Hotel, Belfast, for a ‘Marriage Matters’ event.

He is being supported by public affairs lobby group, the Christian Institute.

In a letter to supporters, the group claimed that halfway through the meeting, he was “interrupted by hotel staff who demanded he bring it to an end, citing a complaint from another patron”.

His 50 attendees had to leave the hotel along with the keynote speaker, who had travelled from Wales, the statement said.

“In the following weeks Rev Coulter wrote to the hotel asking for an explanation and some form of compensation, but to no avail. He has now instructed solicitors.

“The Christian Institute supports Rev Coulter in his action against the hotel and is helping him with his case. It is clear to us that he was mistreated on the basis of his belief that marriage is between one man and one woman. Our view is that this is a breach of discrimination law.”

The News Letter invited the hotel to comment on his claims but it declined to do so.

CI spokesman Simon Calvert said: “For the hotel to take Mr Coulter’s booking, take his money, provide signage and set up the event, only to stop it halfway through, causing maximum inconvenience and embarrassment, is an outrage.

“We’ve got to put an end to what we consider to be attempts to punish people for believing in one man-one woman marriage. After all, it’s what most people believed in until recently.

“The Supreme Court has reaffirmed that belief in traditional marriage is worthy of respect in a democratic society. So we are very happy to be supporting Mr Coulter in his legal action to defend his freedom to hold and express these beliefs without being humiliated like this.”

CI claimed that the hotel’s treatment of Rev Coulter was “a violation of free speech”.

“It is important for the sake of gospel freedom that we take every opportunity to defend this essential right.”

Separately, the CI briefed supporters that public order law in Northern Ireland is more problematic than in the rest of the UK.

“The greatest area of concern is around ‘stirring up hatred’ offences that capture merely insulting words or behaviour even when they are not intended to stir up hatred,” it said. The Troubles-era laws are no longer appropriate, it added.