No turning back
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The mother of a blind and diabetic man who died before his disability discrimination claim had been heard is today pursuing his case posthumously. Sylvia Glover will give evidence at Harrogate county court on behalf of her son, Ian, who died unexpectedly last year at the age of 38. She has asked the disability rights commission (DRC), which was assisting her son in his claim, to continue with the case. The commission is going ahead under legislation that allows personal representatives of a deceased complainant to pursue a case. The hearing will decide whether a cafe owner broke the law by refusing to allow Ian Glover’s guide dog on the premises. Sylvia Glover, from Hythe, Kent, alleges that Lawrence Lawford, the owner of Hannah’s Tearooms & Restaurant in Knaresborough, North Yorkshire, refused to allow the dog, Queenie, into the cafe in August 2001. The Glovers, with a family friend, had just arrived in the town after driving from Kent for a week’s holiday. After the long car journey, Ian Glover needed to eat to stabilise his diabetes. Sylvia Glover says she showed Lawford proof of her son’s blindness and a certificate from environmental health officers, confirming that guide dogs were allowed to enter restaurants. But Lawford continued to refuse, allegedly arguing that his council supported him in doing so. More : guardian.co.uk |