A couple claim they were blacklisted by the National Trust after they resigned from a property where volunteers were ordered to wear gay pride badges.
Bob and Linda Gates worked for 14 years at Felbrigg Hall in Norfolk until the furore over the rainbow-coloured lanyards and the controversial ‘outing’ of its last squire.
When they offered their services to nearby Blickling Hall instead, they waited more than a fortnight for a response before being told there were no ‘opportunities’ available.
Yet the day before the rejection, the trust confirmed there were vacancies – to a fake applicant with no experience invented by Mr Gates, 75, when he became suspicious of the delay.
‘We were blacklisted by the National Trust’: Bob and Linda Gates worked for 14 years at Felbrigg Hall in Norfolk until the furore over the rainbow-coloured lanyards and the controversial ‘outing’ of its last squire
‘If that’s not blacklisting, I don’t know what is. They have brushed us aside,’ he said yesterday.
Scores of volunteers resigned or refused to come to work at Felbrigg Hall in the summer after they were told to wear the rainbow-coloured name badges to make visitors from the LGBTQ (lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and queer) communities feel welcome.
The edict was part of a campaign marking the 50th anniversary of the partial decriminalisation of homosexuality. Robert Wyndham Ketton-Cremer, who donated the property to the trust in 1969, was ‘outed’ as gay to the public. Volunteers, a former employee and his godchildren criticised the move.
Retired printer Mr Gates and his wife Linda, 70, resigned on August 18, criticising the ‘despicable’ decisions that had ‘ruined a house cherished by the volunteers’. They offered to give their time for free at Blickling Hall two days later, and over the next two weeks made further inquiries to see how their application was progressing.
Exasperated at the lack of interest, they concocted an applicant called ‘Joan Simpson’ who emailed the trust on September 4. Within 48 hours, she was told: ‘We do need more room guides and members of the visitor welcome team.’
Scores of volunteers resigned or refused to come to work at Felbrigg Hall (above) in the summer after they were told to wear the rainbow-coloured name badges to make visitors from the LGBTQ (lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and queer) communities feel welcome
The trust then responded to the Gates’ application, saying Blickling Hall’s managers were ‘unable at the moment to offer you an opportunity’.
An incensed Mr Gates demanded to know why he and his wife, a retired secretary, had been ‘rejected’ and warned he would ‘take the matter further’. He wrote: ‘We suspect that conversations have taken place between Blickling and Felbrigg Hall and because of our resignation we have been blacklisted.’
Volunteer programme manager Brian Butcher, who was involved in all their correspondence, responded by saying he was not responsible for the decision. ‘Clearly, you will take whatever action you feel appropriate,’ he added.
Mr Gates said: ‘We are just so annoyed at the way the National Trust have treated everybody.
‘Its remit was to look after buildings and that’s what it should stick to. I definitely think they have lost their way.’
National Trust director-general Dame Helen Ghosh has been accused of championing a politically correct agenda since she took over in 2012.
Dame Helen – who has handed in her notice to become Master of Balliol College, Oxford – was accused of ‘airbrushing faith’ after the word Easter was removed from egg hunts, and criticised for campaigning against global warming and for ‘dumbing down’ properties by removing exhibits to make trips less demanding for visitors.
The charity was also accused of using ‘Mafia tactics’ to buy Lake District land at above market value to stop locals who wanted to keep it as a working farm.
The National Trust yesterday denied blacklisting volunteers.
A spokesman said: ‘Volunteer numbers fluctuate all the time, meaning vacancies can come and go very quickly. As a result we gave what appears to be conflicting information on different days to two different applicants. That was a mistake.’