Deli 'shocked' at complaint letter over Pride flag

A deli that was sent an anonymous letter complaining about a Pride flag flying outside has said it will not stop supporting members of the LGBTQ+ community.

Businesses across Market Harborough displayed Progress Pride flags in June to support Pride month, organised by Harborough District Council.

But as the month approached its end, a customer of Just So Italian Deli sent an unsigned first class letter, which said the flag was "a message of hostility" and warned the deli would "certainly lose" customers.

Just So Italian assistant manager Tiffany Ryan said the deli would not tolerate discrimination and wanted to show solidarity to a community that receives "so much hatred".

She said: "We were quite shocked and disgusted, it was really out of the blue.

"The member of staff who opened the letter is a member of the LGBTQ community himself, so it was quite emotional opening [a letter with] that attitude posted through the letterbox."

The letter, which was also sent to a handful of other businesses in the town, according to the deli, also asked the firms to consider taking down "this divisive flag".

But Ms Ryan said: "We need to let people know that we don't accept this kind of behaviour. We don't tolerate it, and we just wanted to make sure that everyone knows they are welcome in our deli.

"We don't care who you are. It's just all about Italian food. We don't want people to be nervous about coming in.

"We need to stand up for a community that already gets so much hatred directed towards them, because at the end of it, they're people."

Harborough council's lead for culture, leisure, economy and tourism, Jo Asher, said it was "proud" to support Pride month with flags across the town centre and on its Symington Building offices.

She said: "We want to show that everyone is welcome in our district and flying the Progress flag demonstrates our strong commitment to equality and diversity."

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