Belfast-based Samir Chefai, who was supported in taking his case by the Equality Commission for Northern Ireland (ECNI), settled his case for £2,000 with no admission of liability by the YHA.

Mr Chefai, who has lived in Belfast for 16 years, checked into the Belfast Youth Hotel for two nights after he left the keys to his Belfast home at his mother’s house in Paris. He paid the hostel in advance.

On the second day of his stay, a staff member approached him while speaking on his mobile phone in French and asked him who he was. The staff member then looked up his check-in details and saw that he had an address in Belfast, and said he therefore did not need to stay in the hostel. The staff member told him to leave and contacted the police, making Mr Chefai feel he had no option but to leave.

The YHA paid £2,000 to settle the case without admission of any liability. It has reaffirmed its commitment to the principle of equality of opportunity and conformity to all relevant equality legislation.

It had, of its own volition, already arranged for its staff to undertake training with the Equality Commission on a number of issues, and has now also agreed to liaise with the Commission on its policies, practices and procedures to ensure they are effective and conform to the requirements of the Race Relations Order (NI) 1997.

Dr Michael Wardlow, ECNI Chief Commissioner, said: “This man, in a city where he had made his home for 16 years, was singled out, had his identity questioned in public, and was asked to leave the hostel. It’s completely unacceptable that anyone should be treated like this, and the experience was made worse for him because he felt that it was because of someone’s perceptions about his religion and race.

“To challenge a person in a public place only because of presumptions about their race or religion would be simplistic stereotyping, which is unacceptable.”