When Gabe made a hate crime report to the Met Police, the Westminster licensing team advised The Royal George to remove the bouncer. The pub chain told him this in private, but Gabe claims they maligned him publicly to ‘save face’
A gay man who was allegedly ‘verbally threatened and grabbed’ by a Soho bouncer has accused the pub of maligning him online ‘to save face’ while privately acknowledging the doorman had been removed. Gabe, who did not want to give his second name, reported an alleged hate crime to the Met Police after an incident on a night out at The Royal George on Charing Cross Road last month.
Westminster Council’s licensing team looked into the allegations, and advised the bouncer should be removed. Hospitality chain Mitchell and Butlers told Gabe they had done this. Five days later, a response to Gabe’s negative Google review accused the 26-year-old business owner of using the toilet without buying a drink, exchanging drugs, and ‘taking a swing’ at the bouncer.
Gabe has proof he paid for drinks, and maintains the other accusations are false and unsubstantiated. This week the Met confirmed it is investigating an allegation of a hate crime; there have been no arrests; and anyone with evidence should come forward. A spokesperson for the pub said any accusation of homophobia is ‘outrageous, and likely to be actionable’ for defamation.
Gabe told MyLondon: “Iād give a goddamn hair sample if necessary to prove nothing went on in the two minutes I was in that loo, none of which explains the homophobic outburst by the bouncer anyway or why we were physically prevented from leaving. This place doesnāt care about our community safety, they only care about saving face.
“Honestly, I am just appalled. I run a business, I know what is and what isn’t acceptable. God forbid two gay men in Soho at 12am in the morning need to share multiple occupancy toilets at the same time. I am more and more frustrated it was two weeks later they published that response. I could not get to bed that night. I was livid. I could not sleep.”
‘I have never experienced something so hate-fuelled’
This week Gabe told MyLondon he entered the pub with his 29-year-old partner at around 12.15am on Saturday, September 6, ordered two-half pints and drank them outside. When the men went back inside to use the toilet, Gabe claims a bouncer, who had asked for their IDs 15 minutes earlier, ‘aggressively’ questioned where they were going, then ‘begrudgingly’ let them downstairs.
After two-minutes in the multi-occupancy bathroom, Gabe claimed the bouncer ‘barged in demanding to know what was going on’. When Gabe ‘pushed past… to get away’ from the man, who he described as ‘clearly aggressive’, the bouncer allegedly responded by ‘violently’ grabbing his arm and the collar of his jacket, blocking Gabe and his partner from leaving.
“He said he knew what ‘types’ we were and what we do in bathrooms,” Gabe alleged, explaining how the men emptied their pockets to show they had no drugs. Gabe claimed the bouncer then ‘screamed’ about him adjusting his belt and refused to let him go while making further accusations about what the men were ‘up to’ in the toilet, something Gabe considers homophobic.
A manager intervened when he was called over by a staff member who saw the bouncer restraining both men. During the encounter, Gabe says he called the bouncer a ‘homophobe’, allegedly prompting him to call them ‘types’ and grip him harder. The men escaped when the manager pulled the bouncer off, but Gabe claims he ‘lunged at’ and ‘threatened’ them outside.
Gabe told MyLondon: “I’ve lived in London for nearly eight years and have never experienced something so hate fuelled. I also own and run my own venue, and know nothing that happened that night warranted being barged in on in the bathroom, falsely detained, and assaulted.
“He decided that two queer men using the bathroom at the same time could only be for one thing. He decided that gave him the right to falsely imprison us. I fully believe that his lunging at me outside and threatening to ‘f**k me up’ was motivated by my sexuality.”
‘We have removed this door team member’
On September 8, a Mitchell and Butlers manager emailed Gabe to say: “I was sorry to hear about the incident that took place late Friday night. We use a 3rd party registered supplier for our door coverage.
“I have reached out to my internal security manager to liaise directly with the door company, as well as reviewing the CCTV footage at the pub and incident reports that were completed on the night by the Duty Manager.
“Please be reassured we are taking this matter seriously and will work with the Police, the Pub and our Door Agency…”
On September 16, another Mitchell and Butlers manager emailed Gabe to say: “The main change that we have implemented is to remove this particular door team member from our whole company. He will no longer be permitted to work on any of our doors. We have formally informed our door company this. This was the main recommendation from the licensing team at Westminster.”
After giving this assurance, on September 21 the pub responded to Gabe’s Google review, publicly accusing him of:
- Using the toilet without buying anything
- Appearing to exchange drugs with his partner (according to the doorman)
- ‘Taking a swing’ at, and trying to fight, the doorman
MyLondon has also seen a bank statement that shows Gabe spent Ā£8.60 in the pub at 12:17am on the night in question. The pub has provided no evidence of any drug taking or exchange, only the bouncer’s accusation. Gabe insists he did not ‘swing’ at the bouncer and believes a copy of the CCTV footage that he has requested under data laws will vindicate him.
A Royal George spokesperson said: āOur door supervisors are there to safeguard the well-being of our guests and our staff and, if they believe a individual’s behaviour is suspicious, they have every right to ask them to leave. To suggest such decisions are made based on the sexual orientation, race or religion of a person is not only outrageous, and likely to be actionable.
āAny customer who feels they have been wrongly treated is welcome to contact our Guest Care team who will investigate on their behalf, or they are welcome to make a formal complaint.”
A Metropolitan Police spokesperson said: āOfficers are investigating an allegation of a hate crime after a 26-year-old man was verbally threatened and grabbed in a pub on Charing Cross Road, Westminster at around 00:15hrs on Saturday, 6 September. No arrests have been made at this stage. If you have any information relating to the offence, please contact the Met via 101, quoting 01/7948523/25.ā
Pavilion Security and Westminster Council were also approached for comment but did not respond.
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