By Eric King-
Southend Mp, James Dudderidge is assessing the policies of casinos in his constituency in relation to discrimination.
The Eye Of Media.Com heard that the Mp ordered all Casinos in the Southend On Sea to present him with their policies , following a complaint that casinos were abusing their power in discriminatory fashion. The complaint was made after a black male was ejected from Grovesnor casino, situated near the seafront last November, 24 hours after the deputy manager of the casino overruled a doorman who had barred the male from the premises for no substantive reason. The doorman had believed the man took somebody else’s drink, but ignored his explanation that the drink belonged to his friend in the smoking area who had permitted him to drink it.
Instead of examining the man’s claim by going to the smoking area to see if anybody would testify to the man’s claim, he insisted on ejecting the man, leading to the man accusing him of being racist. The next time he tried to visit the casino, the doorman told him the ban was indefinite. The man then issued a written complaint to the Deputy manager, who investigated the issue and overturned the ban.
The man, who has insisted on anonymity told The Eye Of Media.Com he had been back in the casino for about five minutes and bought a drink for £4 when he was approached by the general manager, Kevin Harrison. Harrison asked the man to leave the casino, stating he was ejecting him for the safety of his staff, but stated no reason why the safety of his staff would be of any concern. ”He didn’t even ask me what happened, neither did he care that his assistant had already investigated the complaint.
‘Unscrupulous Harrison, also seized the man’s drink which he had paid for, refusing him an opportunity to finish the drink. When the man told Harrison that his deputy had permitted him to attend the casino, the general manager said ”well I am the general manager. The Eye Of Media.Com confronted Grovesnor casino, they did not deny they had ejected the man without providing a reason. They instead provided the following statement:
”The following excerpt is from our terms and conditions which reaffirms our position:
9. The Company, in accordance with these Terms and Conditions, reserves the right to deny entry to any customer, on either a temporary or permanent basis, and shall not be bound to give any reason for that decision, which shall be final and with no recourse to an appeal”.
This position is a bullish one that exposes the casinos power to discriminate against people for any reason of their choosing. The Eye Of Media.Com can confirm that Grovesnor casino opens its doors to people of all races, and has no choice in this respect. However, its policies allow them to choose when to exercise discrimination, particularly when a frivolous issue arises.
The Eye Of Media.Com raised the issue with MP James Dudderidge, who promised to look into the complaint. He has written to the casino, as well as the other two casinos, requesting a copy of their policies, and asking them to explain their allegation of discrimination against them.
PARLIAMENT
James Dudderidge has been the Member of Parliament for Rochford and Southend East since May 2005. Dudderidge also formerly served as the Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State in the Foreign and Commonwealth Office.
A successful businessman in the private sector, he was a banker with Barclays in the City of London and Africa for 10 years. He was eventually promoted to National Sales Director in the Ivory Coast, eventually running the bank’s operations in Botswana with a staff of 750 people. One of his interests is legislation in business, this case calling on him to interpret legislation as applied to casinos like Grovesnor Casino which operate a clearly discriminatory policy, they don’t seem to be aware of.
A spokesperson from James Dudderidge’s office told The Eye Of Media.Com:
”We are inquiring into the details of the complain. As is the case with every complaint, there are always two sides, and we examine everything carefully”. Dudderidge’s spokesperson confirmed his office is often busy dealing with several issues. There are only three of us in this office and we have a lot to handle, but we look at every case we have thoroughly.
The Eye Of Media.Com believes Grovesnor Casino manager is not a fit manager of the casino, endorsing policies like the ones he has. He is closely being examined by our several eyes.
