Tesco pays £3,000 to mixed-race child over race discrimination claim

Tesco has settled a race discrimination claim filed against it by a mixed race child. The UK supermarket chain has paid £3,000 (€3,799, $4,363) to the child to settle all the charges.

The incident dates back to November 2013, when the unnamed child was apparently stopped at Tesco's Maida Vale store in West London by a retail staff. The boy was then said to have been grabbed by the arm and taken to an office in the back of the store for being searched if he had shoplifted any items. He was found to be innocent and was allowed to go.

The child later complained to his mother that he now felt vulnerable to enter any store as he thought he was targeted because of his mixed race. The mother contacted trade union GMB which asked solicitors Leigh Day to pursue a claim for race discrimination.

Nick Webster, solicitor acting for the child, said: "It is unacceptable to treat somebody differently because of their race, and what was particularly concerning about this incident was the physical, high-handed manner of Tesco's conduct."

"The result is that a child has been scarred by a company, just because of his race. We doubt this is the only incident of this sort and hope that this case will make Tesco look at how they train their staff on equality and diversity, as well as giving those who have been subjected to this type of treatment the confidence to speak out," Webster added.

Post the settlement, the child said: "The way Tesco treated me was unacceptable and for a while left me constantly unnerved whenever I was in a store. I think it is absolutely fantastic that we have been able to show them this is not acceptable and that they cannot get away with these kinds of actions anymore."

A Tesco spokesman argued that everyone was welcome at its supermarket chain and that it took allegations of this nature very seriously. Referring to the incident, the spokesman said: "As has already been disclosed, this person was stopped as the colleague believed they had been shoplifting. We have agreed to settle the case with no admission of liability."