Hackney pub’s child‑free rule sparks debate online

A Hackney pub has banned children after staff said youngsters were increasingly being left unsupervised. The Kenton in Homerton had previously been "more family-friendly" when it served hot food, but this changed after the kitchen was converted into a karaoke booth in 2022, leading to a change in the pub's overall culture. General manager Morgan Ryan said: "You'd have incidents where children would just be running ragged around the corners, bumping into people, falling over, jumping off furniture, particularly out in the beer garden." While much of the feedback from regulars has been positive, staff say they have been surprised by the scale of the debate the decision has generated online. The landlord initially allowed children in the pub before 17:00, but has now implemented a full ban. Owner Egil Yohanssen, who has run the pub for 17 years, said: "I have a child myself, an eight‑year‑old, and we love children. "This whole becoming an adult pub has nothing to do with the children themselves, it is more about the lack of supervision of children." In England, children are generally permitted in pubs, but must follow rules around supervision and alcohol consumption. Under the Licensi