Locals rally behind pub landlord as they slam ‘ridiculous’ convicted terrorist suing boozer for ‘offensive’ sign

Vexed pubgoers around the UK have rallied around a landlord who is being sued by a convicted terrorist over an “offensive” sign.

Khalid Baqa, 60, who has spent four years in prison for creating Jihadi propaganda, said that the “depiction of a bearded Arab/Turk” on the boozer’s sign “incites violence”.

He is now suing The ­Saracen’s Head Inn in Amersham, Buckinghamshire for almost £2,000, stating that the figure on the sign – which depicts a brown-skinned man of Arab or Turkish descent – is racist.

If successful, the 60-year-old plans to take on 30 other pubs with the same name.

Saracen is a term used since at least the 5th century to refer to Arabs, and later linked to Muslims. The pub name Saracen’s Head is said to be linked to the Crusades.

It is one of the most popular names for a pub in the UK, alongside The Red Lion and The Royal Oak.

Staff at pubs with the same name have sworn to fight back against the lawsuit, slamming Baqa’s plan as “awful”.

Caroline Machell-Ranson, who is head chef at the Saracens Head in Kings Langley, Hertfordshire, told the Daily Mail: “This is just ridiculous and is crazy that he is offended by the name.

“This pub has been here since the 16th century and everyone in the village knows about it, and there have never been any complaints.”

Another worker at the Hertfordshire pub said that Baqa’s demand for a name change is “madness”.

At another Saracens Head pub in Towcester, near Northampton, staff and pub goers slammed the lawsuit.

“There is so much these days that offends people and for no good reason that you become afraid to say anything. I’ve never heard anyone complain about the name and have lived here for 20 years. It’s a local pub and people like it,” said one local.

Meanwhile, others presumed Baqa was just trying to “try his luck” to get a payout, doubling down on the pub keeping its name.

More to follow…