Image Credit – David-Anstiss-The-White-Hart,-Public-house-Grays-CC-BY-SA-2.0
The pub landlords who displayed golly dolls behind their bar will face no further action the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) has said.
In April this year five officers removed the dolls from the White Hart Inn in Grays, which has since shut down, following a hate crime allegation.
Following the raid suppliers to the pub began a boycott, leading to the closure of the pub around a fortnight later.
The pub was also graffitied and had five windows damaged on 16 April, days after being struck off Camra’s Good Beer Guide.
Essex Police said it provided evidence to the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) after an “exhaustive” investigation.
The CPS said it had a “duty to make fair and impartial legal decisions”, adding that “We considered the available evidence and concluded our legal test for a prosecution was not met.”
Essex Police Assistant Chief Constable Glen Pavelin added:
“We investigate crimes reported to us without fear or favour.
“This means we are sometimes faced with allegations of crime where people have strong opposing views, but it is the role of policing to remain impartial and investigate allegations raised to us.
“It’s our job to support victims, investigate allegations of crime, ensuring we follow all reasonable lines of inquiry.”
Mrs Ryley said she had displayed the collection, donated by her late aunt and customers, for nearly 10 years.
The building was vandalised on 16 April, prompting a separate police investigation.
Mrs Ryley closed the pub on 1 May, citing a boycott by brewing companies and the maintenance firm Innserve.
Neil Woodbridge, chairman of the Thurrock Independent Advisory Group, a panel of community members who provide Essex Police with critical opinions on key policing issues, said they worked with the force as “critical friends”.
“When an allegation is made, we need to feel confident that Essex Police will show due diligence and act in upholding the law and indeed be in tune with the concerns of the community; we feel they routinely do that,” he said.
“We feel Essex Police took the correct actions in investigating this matter fully. We thank them for taking all potential hate crimes seriously and we would urge all the communities of Thurrock to report anything they have concerns about.”
