The market town of Thetford is remarkable for a few reasons.
It is the birthplace of Thomas Paine – an 18th-century political activist and revolutionary who emigrated to America and became one of the Founding Fathers of the United States.
It was also the unlikely scene of one of the greatest electoral bloodbaths in Modern history last week when former Prime Minister Liz Truss lost her South West Norfolk seat to a Labour Party candidate.
It seems apt that a hotel named after Paine would become a battleground for free speech in the heart of a constituency that has turned red for the first time since 1964.
When Gez Chetal, 57, from Peterborough, took over the derelict Grade II listed building in 2013, it was on the brink of closing down.
Located on Whitehart Street, the Thomas Paine Hotel is built from three 18th-century cottages with a Victorian frontage.
When Gez Chetal took over the derelict Grade II listed building in 2013, it was on the brink of closing down
Thomas Paine Hotel
Since taking over the business, Gez has transformed its fortunes.
It is now a thriving hotel boasting 11 uniquely decorated rooms and a brasserie restaurant.
It has become a tourist hotspot for Americans, who come to pay homage to their founding father. It was also featured on Channel 4’s Four in a Bed in 2016.
So successful is the hotel’s turnaround that it’s booked up for the next four years.
It is a crushing blow, then, that critics of GB News have attempted to trample over the business’ founding principles these last few months.
The fuse was lit soon after Gez signed a deal with a creative agency to advertise his hotel on several media platforms, including GB News.
As part of the agreement, the Thomas Paine Hotel would be advertised to a local audience.
The 57-year-old was excited about the prospect: “I love GB News. It interests me. As a business owner, I think it’s a great thing to have.”
The ad had some great feedback initially but this was soon drowned out by the “huge amount of abuse” he received.
The father was bemused by this: “I am not a politician. I don’t understand the politics of GB News. Why would anyone get upset?”
He was inundated with emails and calls from people in the area threatening to organise a boycott against his business.
GB News has seen a thread of intimidating emails, including one from a person purporting to work for the Government’s Planning Inspectorate who ominously wrote that “a group of us monitor GBN” and will spread the hotelier’s “enthusiasm” for the channel “far and wide”.
The apparent contradiction of running a hotel in the birthplace of a “celebrated free thinker” while advertising on GB News proved too much for another local, who wrote in an email that “not only will I not visit the hotel again, I will do my best to discourage my friends and contacts from using the hotel”.
This is an intriguing decision given that the GB News Editorial Charter enshrines the right to free expression and independent thought.
Hotel owner Gez Chetal fears for his livelihood and the safety of his loved ones
GB NEWS
Gez has a thick skin (which he credits to his 40-year career in business) but he fears for his livelihood and the safety of his loved ones.
“It’s awful. I have committed a lot of money financially and it is stressful for my wife and daughter [both of whom help Gez run the hotel]”.
His daughter is currently studying for her law exams so he’s keen to shield her from the invective.
At its height, the hotelier was getting two to three phone calls a week and a torrent of emails.
He would spend hours trying to win over his detractors, pointing out that independent businesses need all the coverage they can get.
The hotelier would insist that his critics were undermining the very principle that they proclaim to uphold: freedom of expression.
“Thomas Paine would be rolling in his grave if he knew you were advertising on GB News,” one angry caller retorted.
It would seem that for some critics, the demise of Gez’s business was a price worth paying if it meant stopping a small business advertising with GB News.
The hard-working dad was cast as a villain despite spending “thousands upon thousands” of his own money getting people into work.
He runs the not-for-profit Prismstart, a scheme that aims to get ex-offenders back on their feet and into work.
If his opponents get what they want, it will send shockwaves through Gez’s community – he works with local farmers, offers apprenticeships and employs local students.
He also mentors at local prisons, colleges and local schools.
Despite the pushback, Gez will continue to advertise on GB News.
“It has made me more determined to carry on advertising with you guys. GB News is not part of a world global organisation like the BBC. It’s independent. And it’s because it’s dependent I will continue to support it.”
Gez has set up a JustGiving page to raise money for the homeless and vulnerable. You can donate here.
