Pharmacist's 'racist abuse' claim

A Muslim pharmacist has described how he was racially abused after refusing to give a couple the morning after pill on “ethical” grounds. Mohammed Parvez became embroiled in a heated confrontation with a customer after telling him he could not prescribe the emergency contraceptive, a court heard. Chris Mellett, 29, and Kaye Walsh, 36, had gone to Sainburys pharmacy in Ashton late on a Sunday afternoon to buy the pill after having unprotected sex on Friday night. When Mr Parvez told the couple he could not sell them the pill, Mellett, of Shelley grove, Droylsden allegedly launched a torrent of racial insults, Tameside magistrates heard. Mr Parvez said: “It was an ethical decision based on moral and conscientious grounds. The Royal Pharmaceutical Society’s code of ethics allows pharmacists the right to refuse but we must make alternative arrangements for the customer. “It was 4.40pm. He kept saying I’ve only got 20 minutes. I told him not to worry and I would arrange for the pharmacy at Boots at Crown Point Denton to stay open after 5pm. My assistant Jane Goodchild went to phone them. “He was getting aggressive, pointing his finger at me. I told him I don’t want to get into an argument and I made my way back into the dispensary.” Prosecuting, Thomas McCabe said: “The defendant is then alleged to have shouted: ‘United Kingdom, Great Britain, not for people like you!’ “He was red-faced and angry and shouted: ‘Shut your ******* mouth you black ******* you don’t know what you’re talking about.” Mr Parvez told magistrates: “I have never been racially abused in my life. I was shocked.” Mellett went to make a complaint at the customer services desk where duty manager David Lawrence had a conversation with him. Mr Lawrence said: “He told me: ‘If I was in his country I would kneel on a mat and bow East. In this country he should obey our rules.‘” “I have been in retail 20 years but I have never dealt with such a racist customer.” Defending, Paul Lamb accused the witnesses of “fabricating” and “embellishing” the story, which gained widespread attention, to gain “revenge” on Mellett for going to the newspapers. He told Mr Parvez: “The incident happened on 18 May, yet you waited until 30 May to make a complaint to the police. “You became aggrieved by the publicity. You fabricated this story as a way of deflecting it from yourself.” Mr Parvez replied: “He brought this on himself. I am here to tell the truth.” Mellett denies racially aggravated behaviour. The case was adjourned until 3 December. Tameside Advertiser

I can understand Mr Parvez’s predicament in this situation. It is not Mr Parvez who I hold directly accountable in this instance, but the pharmacy owners – Sainsbury’s. Sainsburys should have been aware of Mr Parvez’s religious beliefs and had other staff on hand who could have prescribed the product Mr Parvez could not. Tameside Citizen