By Eric King-
The UK equality watchdog has sought an injunction against buy-to-let mogul Fergus Wilson, following his letting agent to ban
Wilson, who at one time owned almost 1,000 homes across Ashford and Maidstone in Kent, emailed a local letting agency, Evolution, saying: “No colored people because of the curry smell at the end of the tenancy.”
Rebecca Hilsenrath, the chief executive of the Equality and Human Rights Commission (EHRC), called the remarks “truly disgusting … as well as being unlawful instructions from a landlord to a letting agent”.
Maidstone county court has been told that the EHRC will ask the court “if it agrees with us that Mr Wilson’s lettings policy contains unlawful criteria and, if so, to issue an injunction”.
Wilson has defiantly said he would vigorously fight the legal action, insisting he was not a racist. However, his claim not to be racist is not supported by his racist instructions to the estate agents.
Speaking before the hearing, Wilson said: “All the local people here agree with me. It’s perfectly legal not to buy a house because you think it smells of curry. If you are in Luton or Bedford, maybe that won’t make a difference. But in Ashford and Maidstone, 99% of the population are not from India or Pakistan.
The problem is that if you have a £250,000 mid-terrace house, the valuation drops by £50,000 if it smells of curry.” Wilson, like anybody else, reserves the right not to want a house smelling of curry, but his instructions to discriminates against coloured people is unarguably racist.
Property Tycoon
The property tycoon, who previously announced the £250m sale of his empire but said the process was taking a long time, will represent himself in court.
His defence would be based partly on his claim that no one had been affected by his letting criteria, as he had not had a request to rent from an Indian or Pakistani person for many years.
“I take in a disproportionately high number of black tenants. I’m not against colored people. I’m not against Pakistani people. I’m friendly with an awful lot of Pakistani landlords. Yet, he fails to explain why he made an instruction to an Estate Agent to ban colored people from being tenants.” At property auctions everyone asks me to be on their table. By chance, I’ve had some Gurkhas, and I’m very proud they have been tenants of mine. They do not leave any residual smells of curry cooking afterwards. This has got nothing to do with the colour of someone’s skin,” he said.
When the EHRC began its legal action, it said Wilson’s letting criterion of “no colored people” was direct discrimination on the grounds of race, breaching section 13 of the Equality Act 2010.Once the court grants an injunction, no further action will be taken against Wilson if he co-operates with the decision. However, if he breaches the injunction and continues to apply the discriminatory criterion, he will be charged with a fine for contempt of court. A fine will be too soft a punishment, imprisonment will be more suitable.