Bristol Beacon cancelled rally after zoo chief's intervention

A MAN behind a campaign to save Bristol Zoo has received thousands of pounds in compensation from the Bristol Beacon because the venue cancelled his booking for the launch event following intervention from the zoo's boss.

- Tristan CORK

Staff at the Beacon, which is owned by the city council, later tried to silence Tom Jones by offering compensation, but only if he dropped attempts to investigate the cancellation and sign a nondisclosure agreement.

Mr Jones, from the Save Bristol Zoo campaign, booked space at the venue to hold a public meeting on April 29. It was to launch a renewed campaign calling on Bristol Zoo to make a U-turn on its decision to close its Clifton site.

Mr Jones had raised thousands from a fundraising appeal and also spent his own money publicising it. Hundreds were expected to attend and Mr Jones said former zoo staff plus an international expert would speak about closing the Clifton site and expanding the Bristol Zoo Project in South Gloucestershire. Mr Jones spent thousands to print and deliver leaflets to 35,000 homes. Seven days before the event, Bristol Beacon told him it had cancelled.

Emails seen by the Post show earlier that day Bristol Zoo chief executive Justin Morris emailed Simon Wales, his counterpart at the Bristol Beacon, to raise concerns - and hours later, Mr Jones was told the booking had been cancelled.

Mr Jones did not receive a refund of his booking fee of more than £1,000 until weeks later and with all publicity material advertising an event at the Bristol Beacon, he said he reluctantly had to cancel.

He said there was no way of contacting the 35,000 homes that had received flyers to advise of a different potential venue. He immediately demanded to know why it had cancelled, and three weeks later, he received an email which finally gave an explanation.

"You will appreciate that, as a registered Bristol charity, hosting an event that was widely publicised online for the purpose of rallying against another Bristol charity's board raised significant concerns for us, both from a public safety and reputational perspective," the email from Bristol Beacon chief executive Mr Wales said.