Comedian Philip Simon wins discrimination case against Fringe venue

Mr Simon, who has been a regular on the comedy circuit for 15 years, had his run of Fringe shows cancelled at short notice last summer by the venue Banshee Labyrinth. 

One reason cited by the venue was his attendance at a vigil held in memory of those murdered and in solidarity with the civilians taken hostage during the Hamas terror attacks in Israel on October 7 2023. 

The venue accused Mr Simon of sharing “rhetoric and symbology” linked to Israel and said it had pulled the shows due to staff safety concerns. This was despite his apolitical, comedy show, Shall I Compere Thee in a Funny Way?, which made no reference to the war in Gaza or Israel. 

Before the court action was raised, the venue’s owner Morrison Bro’s Ltd refused to issue an apology to Mr Simon and has since refused to instruct its staff to undergo antisemitism training following last year’s incident.

Adam Wagner KC was instructed by Rosie Walker of Gilson Gray to advise on the Equality Act aspects the case, leading David Welsh, who appeared before the Sheriff Court.