
Sir Keir Starmer has been kicked out of a pub by an angry landlord, footage shows.
The Labour leader was berated by the man, named Rod Humphris, during a walkabout in Bath. The Landlord stated he had voted Labour all his life called out Starmer on his lack of opposition and failure to ask the real questions during the covid pandemic.
The landlord, who was filmed tussling with a man in a suit, shouted “that man is not allowed in my pub” and “get out of my pub” as Starmer walked out of the door, with the incident captured on camera by reporters.
Humphris who is the landlord of the Raven pub in the centre of Bath appeared to be held back by security guards during the incident.
Sir Keir Starmer being a Barrister could probably explain the legalities behind the minder assaulting the Landlord in his own pub while demanding Starmer leave the premises better than we could, however we are very sure he would put up a better argument on that than he does against the Tories.
Its my pub get out of my pub.
Pub licensee’s right to reject custom
A pub landlord is not obliged to serve anyone who comes in and is willing to pay, says Peter Coulson.
It’s a “common law” right, which means that a pub landlord is not obliged to serve anyone who comes in and is willing to pay — a popular myth brought about by a wrong interpretation of the descriptions “public house” and “public bar”.
A public house is still a private place, operated by the licensee to a certain extent in line with Al Murray’s maxim: “My gaff, my rules.” What happen when someone enters is that they are given a form of licence to be there, which can effectively be brought to an end at any time if their conduct justifies exclusion.
Similarly, when someone comes up to the bar and orders a drink, they are in fact offering to buy.
It is the licensee who accepts or rejects that offer, so on a refusal a contract is not made and the person has no legal redress.
That fundamental right is not in itself overturned by discrimination laws, which simply say that in picking and choosing his customers, a licensee must not make a judgement based on prejudice, but on fact. A person’s race, sex, religion or age should not govern the decision, but their behaviour or actions, either at the time or previously.
The power of rejection can also be delegated, as can other actions in a pub. If the licensee gives authority to a bar worker to sell alcohol, they also give them the authority to refuse service to certain people (which they must do by law) and also people who would be unacceptable to the licensee.
So it is not right to say that only the licensee can ban a person — a barman can do exactly the same, if he has the authority at the time.
This right exists without any obligation on the licensee to give a reason, although in cases where there might be some doubt it is best to say exactly why the person is refused or barred.
I think he has utterly failed us as the leader of the Opposition
On why he kicked the Labour leader out of the pub, the 54-year-old told the PA news agency: “I had heard that the Labour Party were coming round and he turned up and I told him what I thought of him, basically.
“I think he has utterly failed us as the leader of the Opposition, he has completely failed to ask the questions that needed asking, like, why did we throw away our previous pandemic preparedness?”
Humphris also made comments suggesting he is a lockdown-sceptic and can be heard to say “thousands of people have died because you (Starmer) failed to ask ask the real questions”
Starmer told the man, “I really don’t need lectures from you”.
Eventful trip to the Raven in Bath for Labour leader Keir Starmer.
— Stephen Sumner (@StephenSumner15) April 19, 2021
Warning – bad language from landlord Rod Humphreys pic.twitter.com/gjNtCsok6F