Dear supporter,

I’m writing with good news about Harry Coulter, the church minister punished by a Belfast hotel for his biblical beliefs about marriage.

On 9 October last year, Revd Coulter was forced to stop an event in support of traditional marriage at the Balmoral Hotel after a member of the public complained. More than fifty attendees were forced to leave. Since then, the Institute’s legal team has been helping him with a claim against the hotel for religious discrimination and breach of contract.

I’m delighted to say that the hotel has now apologised unconditionally. It has also refunded Harry’s booking fee and paid his legal costs.

Its letter to Revd Coulter expressed “sincere regret” at the actions of its staff and the ‘embarrassment and inconvenience’ to Harry and his guests.

It admitted: “you and your guests were prevented from fully expressing and discussing your beliefs about the law of marriage in Northern Ireland as part of your ‘Marriage Matters’ series. We recognise that the ability to respectfully debate issues on which we hold strong views is fundamental to freedom of speech for all of us.”

The hotel committed to “refresh the training of all staff on their responsibilities relating to equality, diversity and human rights”.

Read our press release.

Tony Rucinski of Coalition for Marriage was the keynote speaker that night in October. He spoke to Harry about the hotel’s change of heart.

Watch now

This is a vital victory for free speech and religious liberty.

If necessary we would have helped Revd Coulter take the hotel to court. We are glad it didn’t come to that. Legal action should not be required to defend the view that marriage is only between one man and one woman. But we will remain vigilant – and ready to use the law to help Christians in difficulty because of their biblical beliefs.

If you would like to make a donation to support the legal work of The Christian Institute you can do so using the button below. But above all, thank you for your prayers.