Dominoes player wins case over racist noise ban in London square
A dominoes player has won a court case over a ban against he and his friends playing the game loudly that he said was racially motivated.
Ernest Theophile took Westminster city council to court after it granted an injunction banning social gatherings in Maida Hill Market Square in north-west London.
Theophile and his friends have been gathering in the square for 12 years, to chat, socialise, and play dominoes, cards and backgammon. However, the council banned them from congregating there in January 2021, citing noise and antisocial behaviour problems. It said it had received more than 200 complaints.
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In March 2021, a judge changed the order meaning the group could return to the square near a junction between Harrow Road, Westbourne Park and Maida Vale. But the group could have been jailed if they were caught playing loud amplified music, drinking alcohol, shouting or swearing.
However, the 74-year-old took the council to court, saying its order was racist as it discriminated against Caribbean culture. Theophiles family arrived from the Dominican Republic in the 1950s as part of the Windrush generation.
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