Multimillionaire race row landlord who banned 'coloured' tenants sues YouTuber who called him racist
A wealthy landlord who imposed a ‘no coloureds’ ban is suing a YouTuber with just £100 to his name under the Malicious Communications Act.
Millionaire property mogul Fergus Wilson, 69, has taken Danny Hyde, 29, to court after he published a video claiming the landlord was “coming across as racist”.
Wilson banned ‘coloureds’ from renting his properties last year because of “curry smells” and also refused to rent to plumbers, single parents and anybody under 18.
He intends to sue Danny, who runs Danny Hyde TV with over 1,000 subscribers, for £10,000 over a “grossly offensive” video published in March, which he believes breaches the 1988 Malicious Communications Act – usually reserved for sending ‘poison pen’ letters.
Wilson, of Maidstone, Kent, said: “I won’t take action over people who say I’m racist because there are too many people and I can’t sue them all.
“It’s not the content of what he wanted to say, it was the language that he selected, I was appalled at what this chap said in his opening sentence.”
Danny, from Glastonbury, Somerset fears the hearing at Yeovil County Court later this month could make him bankrupt and ruin his life.
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He said: “It was a bit daunting that he wants £10,000 from me, my channel is really small, the video only had 900 views and I did it in March, it was shocking and surprising.
“I have literally got £100 to my name if he bankrupted me it would be terrible I was trying to call him out over an act of extreme racism.”
If Danny does not settle out of court, the landlord – who made £250 million selling his property empire to ‘Arabic’ investors in 2015 – has threatened to bring a private prosecution against him.
In November Maidstone County Court found that Wilson’s ban of non-white tenants was unlawful as it breached section 12 of the 2010 Equality Act.
He claimed the ban was imposed due to the cost of removing the smell of curry at the end of their tenancy
In court, Wilson denied he was a racist and told the court he was one of the few landlords who would take black tenants.
At first he insisted he was joking about the ban in his email to the letting agent. He later defended it, saying it was put in place on economic, not racial, grounds due to the costs of cleaning properties left with curry smells.
An injunction was passed, banning him from applying criteria discriminating against “coloured” tenants or those of Indian or Pakistani backgrounds.
It will remain in place for three years and if Mr Wilson complies with the ruling, no further action will be taken.
If he were to persist with the policy, it may be considered contempt of court and he could be fined.
