With other celebrities including the actor George Clooney giving their support to the boycott campaign, a string of companies confirmed on Friday that they would no longer be using the five-star hotel’s facilities. The TV Choice awards, several major property companies and the Financial Times were among those that said they would be cancelling events.
“The new laws introduced by Brunei breach the most basic human rights, and we believe it is our duty as a firm to take action against them,” the Deutsche Bank chief risk officer, Stuart Lewis, said in a statement. [...]
Most of the hotels in the Brunei-owned chain have deleted their social media accounts following a barrage of protest. The Dorchester Collection group has a notice on its website saying: “Inclusion, diversity and equality are the foundation of Dorchester Collection … We understand people’s anger and frustration but this is a political and religious issue that we don’t believe should be played out in our hotels.” [...]
The University of Aberdeen and King’s College London have already confirmed they are reviewing the honorary degrees they have given to the sultan, while 40,000 people have signed a petition calling on the University of Oxford, which gave him an honorary diploma in 1993, to follow suit. [...]
This has caused concern among LGBT soldiers in the British army, who fear they could be caught up in the legal regime if they are serving in the country. The defence secretary, Gavin Williamson, told the Times he was seeking reassurances at the “highest levels” that UK troops would not be affected.
