Premier Inn hits back after being accused of 'box ticking' with 'ridiculous' new Pride logo

Hotel chain Premier Inn has hit back after being accused of 'box ticking' with its new Pride logo. The hotel giant showed its support for the LGBTQ+ community ahead of Pride month and updated its Facebook page on June 1, with a new logo reading 'Premier Out'.

The chain said it wanted to 'recognise the importance of LGBTQ+ equality' in a 'world where the community still face discrimination'. The new image showed an updated version of its usual logo, with the pride flag colours underneath.

Many people commented on the post in support of the change. Colette Booth wrote: "Excellent! Well done! Ignore the haters. They are why Pride Month is important."

Emma Jeffrey penned: "Well done Premier Inn."

Tracy Goodwin said: "Well done premier inn for being inclusive of everyone."

READ MOREManchester Pride 2022 line-up announced, with Melanie C, Nadine Coyle and Bimini

Others found issue. Luke McKenzie wrote: "This is ridiculous… the shame."

Gordon McBlain added: "Wonder if there's a straight month as well? Just a poxy box ticking exercise."

Sarah Elliott penned: "I fail to see why this needed to be done/said."

Premier Inn commented: "Thanks for the overwhelming positivity to our posts! We do however want to address the odd negative comment - it is really important to us at Premier Inn to celebrate Pride and show our allyship to the LGBTQ+ community.

"This is not a ‘box ticking exercise’, it is a way for us to recognise the importance of LGBTQ+ equality in a world where sadly the community still face discrimination in many parts of their lives. We also want to celebrate, because our teams want to, and it’s the perfect time to celebrate the community, the friends, allies and acknowledgement of equality where it occurs.

"It is