Claridge's responds to Twitter outrage on breastfeeding incident

02 December 2014 by
Claridge's responds to Twitter outrage on breastfeeding incident

London's Claridge's hotel has said that it is "saddened" by the backlash on social media after asking a guest to "cover-up" while breast-feeding her 12-week-old baby.

Louise Burns was feeding her daughter, while enjoying afternoon tea at the five-AA-star, 203-bedroom hotel with her mother and sister when a member of the waiting staff asked her to cover up with a large white napkin.

She later voiced her frustration and disappointment on Twitter: "Asked to cover up with this ridiculous shroud while #breastfeeding so not to cause offence @ClaridgesHotel today". Later, she added: "…SO much more obvious with it than without! Such a shame I can never go back…. @ClaridgesHotel #breastfeeding".

Hundreds of messages in support of Burns, who worked in financial services and is married to the actor Nicholas Burns, have since appeared on Twitter, with people expressing their outrage and concern that the stance taken by Claridge's was possibly illegal.

The Equality Act 2010 states that it's sex discrimination to prevent a woman from breastfeeding in a public place, such as restaurants and hotels.

A spokesperson for Claridge's said: "We feel we need to clarify that breastfeeding is of course embraced at Claridge's. All we ask is that our guests are discreet."

The hotel later suggested that it is looking to review its policy by Tweeting: "We… are looking into better ways of communicating this moving forward."

Brasserie Blanc breastfeeding sign goes viral >>

Legal protection for breastfeeding mums >>

TagsHotels
The Caterer Breakfast Briefing Email

Start the working day with The Caterer’s free breakfast briefing email

Sign Up and manage your preferences below

Check mark icon
Thank you

You have successfully signed up for the Caterer Breakfast Briefing Email and will hear from us soon!

Jacobs Media is honoured to be the recipient of the 2020 Queen's Award for Enterprise.

The highest official awards for UK businesses since being established by royal warrant in 1965. Read more.

close

Ad Blocker detected

We have noticed you are using an adblocker and – although we support freedom of choice – we would like to ask you to enable ads on our site. They are an important revenue source which supports free access of our website's content, especially during the COVID-19 crisis.

trade tracker pixel tracking