Isn't This Just Spiteful Nastiness From A "Minister"?

[ToraToraTora]

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-scotland-tayside-central-58322040
doesn't matter if they win or lose the Nursery will be out of business and money grubbing lawyers will further feather their nests. So his kid didn't get into a nursery, boo bl33din hoo, grow up, you're a "minister" man, what message does it send?

[tomus42]

// how have they not obeyed the law //

I don't know that they haven't. I don't think it's lawful for a business to discriminate against people on grounds of race, religion, sexuality etc, but whether they have or not is what is going to be established.

[Canary42]

It sounds like "demanding money with menaces" to me - i.e. give to the charity or I'll take you to court. And surely that's illegal.

[youngmafbog]

//but also instructed a solicitor to initiate legal proceedings unless Little Scholars apologised and made a donation to an anti-racism charity within two weeks.//

Doesnt that amount to bribery?

[THECORBYLOON]

It's a request for damages.

[Spicerack]

It's just not a good look, corby.

[THECORBYLOON]

It's an indication the apology is sincere and the fact the money would go to charity shows it's not for personal gain.

[Spicerack]

Why would handing over cash make someone sincere?
Hopping mad, you mean.

[Spicerack]

I know it's quite the fashion but you can't force someone to be sincere.
Anymore than you can force them to have the 'correct' opinions.

[andy-hughes]

I don't think for one moment that this situation will force the nursery out of business.

I also don;t believe that the legal action is motivated by 'nastiness' - but rather by what the parents see as a legitimate case of predjudice against them.

I think it will be very difficult for the minister to prove to the satisfaction of a court that his child's place refusal is based on ethnic grounds - the nursery can, and no doubt will, produce a long list of criteria for admission and refusal, starting with the fluid changes in place numbers than can mean that in this case, when the minister applied there was not a place, and when a 'white-sounding' family or families aplied, places were available.

It will be for the minister's legal team to prove beyond reasonable doubt that racism was a direct and over-riding factor in the decisions involving place availability, and I think he will lose that argument.

We will see.

[ToraToraTora]

AH: "I don't think for one moment that this situation will force the nursery out of business. " - do you think they have enough in the bank to pay for the lawyers then?

[andy-hughes]

I don't know TTT, but then again, neither do you.

I can guess, as you are, but guessing is not knowing.

[ToraToraTora]

Yes I'm guessing but in my experience nurseries are run hand to mouth with very little surplus. They may have insurance but I suspect this sort of thing will be excluded.

[THECORBYLOON]

What experiences do you have with the financial affairs of nurseries?

[anneasquith]

This is interesting ttt. Do you own/work in nurseries ?

[ToraToraTora]

anne, I have a friend who ran a nursery for about 20 years. Barely made minimum wage after expenses, any sort of law suit would kill her stone dead. I also have children who went to nurseries, they were always asking for contributions for things. Perhaps they were all pretending to be skint, perhaps they can all afford defence lawyers. Perhaps you know of some rich ones.

[ToraToraTora]

Perhaps in Scotland the nursery owners all drive Porsches and live in mansions and charge a bag of sand a week who knows!

[anneasquith]

Perhaps ttt you are talking a load of bo’’o’ks as usual ?

[ToraToraTora]

you are the expert there love, I related my experience above.

[THECORBYLOON]

Why does Doris Day spring to mind...?

[douglas9401]

Maybe all the Deadwood about the place TCL?