Gay-guests row hotelier set to stand as MSP

A GUESTHOUSE owner who was dropped from VisitScotland listings after he refused to allow a gay couple to stay in a double room wants to stand as an MSP at the next election.

Tom Forrest, who owns the Cromasaig bed-and-breakfast, in Wester Ross, is considering the move as a protest against planned sexual equality legislation that would ban hoteliers from turning away gay couples.

Mr Forrest has claimed the move, which would be introduced by 2006 by the proposed Equality and Human Rights Commission, is "political correctness gone mad".

He says he will stand for the Scottish Parliament as an independent "on moral grounds" against John Farquhar Munro, the present Liberal Democrat MSP for Ross, Skye and Inverness West. Mr Munro yesterday refused to comment.

Last month, Mr Forrest caused an outcry when he told Stephen Nock and his partner they could have twin beds but not a double as he would not "condone perversion".

VisitScotland subsequently dropped his premises from the organisation’s website and quality-assurance scheme for his "appalling treatment" of the couple.

Yesterday, Mr Forrest, a former soldier originally from Glasgow, who claims he has received "worldwide" support for his stance, said he was serious about his political ambitions.

"No-one is doing anything about this. The way I read it, this new law would make us take them [gay people] whether we like it or not.

"That is going to destroy tourism in the whole of Scotland. It’s about time somebody stood up and said this is our moral stand against what’s happening in this country.

"We have to do it because everyone just seems to be following the gay line. Everyone seems to be supporting this minority group who make up 0.2 per cent of the population. How can 0.2 per cent of the population of this country effectively rule it, apart from the fact that 50 per cent of the Members of Parliament we have are poofs anyway.

"I have support locally to stand as an MSP. People have said it’s a good idea and it’s about time somebody stood up for them. I have no political affiliation and would stand as an independent on moral grounds."

He added: "Can you imagine old Mrs McPhater in Harris taking a couple of poofs in? I think not.

"They wouldn’t even be let in the door, whereas I was being reasonable and saying they could have a twin room."

Mr Nock and his partner, from London, tried to book accommodation at Mr Forrest’s guesthouse in Kinlochewe for a four-day walking holiday in the Highlands after seeing it advertised on the VisitScotland website.

But in an exchange of e-mails he was told he and his partner could have only a twin-bedded room as the B&B would not "condone perversion".

The guesthouse website later announced it would allow only heterosexual couples and singles to occupy its double rooms.

The action by VisitScotland was supported by Stonewall, the gay rights organisation, which said Mr Forrest’s actions were unacceptable and argued that barring a gay couple should be illegal in the same way as barring a black or disabled couple would be.

The new Equality and Human Rights Commission was unveiled in May as a replacement for three watchdogs - the Commission for Racial Equality, the Equal Opportunities Commission and the Disability Rights Commission.

The so-called super-quango will have a 50 million-a-year budget to tackle discrimination in every walk of life.