Pub bans Yes campaigners

A South Wales pub has refused to serve anyone associated with the Yes for Wales campaign, or anyone who plans to vote Yes in the referendum.

Paul Taylor, the landlord of Rock Country Inn, Blackwood, made the decision on Wednesday. He plans to put up a banner across the bar to make it clear Yes voters are not welcome.

Mr Taylor, who has owned the pub for four years, said: "The Yes campaign is a load of nonsense. I think this is a good plan, a good way of getting noticed. I'm going to put a sign over the bar which say  'if you have voted Yes or are planning to vote Yes, we won't serve you'. It is a publicity stunt for the No campaign. This is an unfair fight between Yes and No - the No campaign doesn't have the wealth the Yes campaign has. What I'm doing is outrageous, and I want it to be."

Mr Taylor, 58, said he came up with the plan after a meeting in his pub with True Wales campaigners. "It's moving at a pace, word is getting around," he said.

Mr Taylor, who has worked as a landlord for 15 years, said the banner, which will be made by the True Wales campaign, will be put up in the coming weeks. "We've got a long time to go," he said. "It's early days, so we'll wait before we put up the banner."

A spokesperson for Yes for Wales said: "We are not commenting on anything to do with the No campaign. We are focusing on our campaign. The No campaign have made a number of personal attacks and homophobic comments, and we are not going to be drawn in.”

Note: updated story to link to news story around the Twitter comment row between True Wales and Yes for Wales