Greene King Praised For Changing Racist Name Of 350-Year-Old Pub

Greene King has announced plans to change the name of its 17th century pub in Linlithgow, West Lothian.

The brewery plans to change the name of the historic pub over fears that it could have racist connotations.

Originally named The Black Bitch, owner Greene Kings plan to change the Scottish boozer's name to The Willow Tree.

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The pub was originally named after the local myth which told of a black greyhound who swam to an island in Linlithgow Loch to keep her stranded owner alive.

Locals have mixed feelings on the name change; while some are convinced that the move could cost jobs in Linlithgow, others think it's a positive 'step forward.'

Despite a protest outside the pub over the weekend and a petition signed by 12,000 people, Greene King has so far decided to ignore complaints and go ahead with the rebrand.

Reacting to the protest, one person tweeted: "Why does it f***ing matter ffs? Even if it isn't racist or whatever surely it's a step forward for a pub not to be called 'the black bitch' 😂. Right wingers are the biggest snowflakes I stg."

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Defending the move to Facebook, another person wrote: "Yes it should be changed; I don’t accept the view that preserving historic language is more important than removing language that is offensive to women and black people. Yes it refers to a female dog but there’s no denying the duality of meaning or that it wouldn’t be offensive: there are other ways to preserve local heritage; such as renaming the pub the black hound."

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In response to complaints about the name change, a spokesperson for Greene King said: “We respect the proud history of Linlithgow and listened to community feedback about our original choice of name, which is why we’re now renaming our pub to The Willow Tree to mark another important piece of local heritage.

"It has never been our intention to cause any upset but we cannot ignore that we’ve heard from many people, including people living in the town, who don’t feel comfortable with the existing name written on the front of a pub, even when the context is known.”