Clapham: Disgraced Lambeth councillor barred from pub

Lambeth councillor Philip Normal barred from local pub

A disgraced ex-Labour councillor who posted racist and transphobic slurs online has been barred from a famous London gay pub.

The Royal Vauxhall Tavern's landlord said Philip Normal was no longer welcome through the doors of the 150-year-old venue.

Normal resigned from Lambeth Council on January 13 after historic tweets resurfaced in which he used offensive language to refer to Muslims and trans people.

In a statement posted on the pub's Twitter account, its chief executive, James Lindsay, said: "I want to make it very clear that bigoted language of any kind is not tolerated at this venue, we are not associated with him [Normal] and he is no longer welcome at The RVT."

Normal branded Muslims 'extremists' and compared Muslim women to 'penguins' in tweets posted on his personal Twitter account before he was elected a councillor.

The offensive tweets, which span from 2011 to 2014, also include derogatory comments about black men and girls.

On January 12, before resigning, Normal apologised for the posts – describing them as 'offensive' and 'discriminatory'

In a statement posted on Twitter, he said: "I am profoundly sorry for the content of some of my historic tweets. I sincerely apologise to everyone who has seen them and who I have insulted by their contents.

"Reading them now I am horrified and deeply disappointed in myself. They are clearly offensive and discriminatory. They do not reflect my views and values today. I have referred myself to the Labour Party for investigation."

Lambeth's Labour leader Cllr Claire Holland criticised Normal's comments in an apology issued on January 13.

She said: "I welcome his decision to resign and unequivocally condemn the tweets and the sentiments expressed in them.

"On behalf of Lambeth Labour, I am very sorry that such appalling statements were made by a member of our group."

Normal was elected Labour member for Lambeth in the 2018 local elections.

In 2020, he became the UK's first openly HIV positive mayor.

Mr Lindsay from the pub condemned Normal after becoming frustrated at images circulating online of the former councillor standing outside the pub.

When contacted today [January 19], the Royal Vauxhall Tavern said it had nothing more it wanted to say on the matter.

A member of staff said: "There's nothing we want to add. Everything is in that post."

Philip Normal has been contacted.