Essex pub handed awards and publication ban by Camra over golly doll collection

An Essex pub which is refusing to take down its collection of golly dolls, has been told it will no longer be featured in the Camra Good Beer Guide, or be eligible for its awards.

The White Hart, in Grays, Essex, was visited by police for displaying the dolls, which are considered to be racist depictions, who then removed them, after receiving a report that someone felt racially harassed, alarmed or distressed at the presence of the figures.

The pub’s owners insist they are not racist, instead saying the dolls are “childhood history”.

Campaign for Real Ale (Camra), which is a recognition body for pubs in the UK, has said the venue in question will no longer be considered for any future awards, or inclusion in its annual Good Pub Guide.

In a series of tweets, the body said it was “baffling that any pub would choose to discriminate against customers or potential customers by continuing to display offensive material”.

It added: “We have had clear national guidelines in place since 2018 that no pub should be considered for an award if it displays offensive or discriminatory material on the premises, or on social media associated with the pub.

“We are currently discussing why this guidance was seemingly ignored by our South West Essex branch & instructing them not to consider the White Hart, Grays, Essex, for future awards, or inclusion in our Good Beer Guide, while these discriminatory dolls continue to be on display.”

Camra also said it has amended the pub’s description on its website, so it now says the venue “has chosen to display material which is discriminatory and offensive”.

It accused the pub’s previous self-submitted description of being “problematic and makes light of the offensive nature of the materials displayed”.

A Home Office source told Sky News Home Secretary Suella Braverman regarded the action by the police as a waste of resources.

“The home cecretary’s views have now been made very plain to Essex Police, so they’re under no illusions. Police forces should not be getting involved in this kind of nonsense,” they said.

“It’s about tackling anti-social behaviour, stopping violence against women and girls, attending burglaries and catching criminals – not seizing dolls.”

Essex Police denied they had been contacted by the home secretary.

Speaking on LBC, 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 the dolls.