Leeds man creates fundraiser for hair salons in Bradford as "protest" against Quinn Blakey 'Magna Carta' hairdresser who opened during lockdown

Quinn Blakey Hairdressing, in Bradford, made the decision to stay open during lockdown and refused to close when told to by the police.

Sinead Quinn, the owner of the Bradford Road salon in Oakenshaw, was issued with several fines totalling £17,000 by Kirklees Council for staying open when 'non-essential' businesses had been ordered to close by the Government.

Now, Andrew Jones from Leeds has created a fundraising page to raise money for the salons who followed rules and didn't open and missed out on income over the lockdown period.

Andrew, a plumber, told the YEP: "It's just ridiculous that she tried to use the old law and pointed to rules that don't apply, it's a load of nonsense.

"I have a friend with a salon in Leeds who told me about the situation and it really annoys me and I know many others feel the same so I wanted to help other salons.

"My fundraising page seems to have got interest so I'll have to decide which salons in the area to split it with.

"My page is a protest against what she has been doing."

The description on the fundraising page says: "We all know about 'Quinn Blakey Hairdressing' who broke the lockdown rules and kept her hair salon open during the lockdown.

"During this time all other local hair salons followed the rules and didn't open thereby missing out on large amounts of income. No doubt many also lost customers to Quinn Blakely who was the only person to keep her salon open in the area.

"Unlike Quinn Blakley, the other local hairdressers / salons have not got their ''got any spare change love'' cups out and have not set up their own gofund me page, so I've done it for them.

"All donations will be split evenly between all other salons in the BD12 area (Except for 'Quinn Blakley Hairdressing')."

The page has so far raised £315 out of a £15,000 target.

The Oakenshaw salon owner was issued with a court order and then ordered by magistrates on November 30 to close the salon until just after midnight on December 2 when tiering restrictions came in.

Magistrates said Sinead Quinn caused “distress to the public” by repeatedly opening to customers during the current lockdown.

Ms Quinn did not appear at Bradford Magistrates’ Court for the hearing on Monday but the closure application went ahead in her absence “to prevent nuisance to members of the public and to safeguard public health”.

The hairdresser created a GoFundMe page to raise money for her £5,000 legal fees.The hairdresser had a sign on her door which referenced Article 61 of Magna Carta 1215 which stated it has a “right to enter into lawful dissent if we feel we are being governed unjustly.”

The original version of Magna Carta granted powers to barons in order to keep the provisions of the Magna Carta, but these powers were not granted to the wider population. Within a year of being written, this clause was removed from subsequent versions of Magna Carta. It was never incorporated into English statutory law and so cannot be used as a Common Law defence.

A post on the salon’s Facebook page on November 9 explained that the salon was staying open to ensure the salon’s rent was paid along with the owner’s personal mortgage, bills, childcare fees, food, car and insurance.

The now deleted post read: “I earned this week’s rent today, not sure where I would be pulling that money from given the government want self employed business people to wait SIX WEEKS for a payment.

"I still have a mortgage, bills, childcare fees, food, car, insurance etc not to mention the overheads for the shop.

"If we give up now I can categorically guarantee your small businesses will not survive this lockdown - given it’s not going to be four weeks.

“Like I said before this is more than just having a business and an income, this is my children’s future and that’s more important to me than anything. Thank you to the clients who are supporting me in this difficult time!”

The owner of the salon continued to post videos on Instagram of the police and council outside the door.

The letter on the door referring to the 1215 document said: “Under Article 61 of Magna Carta 1215 we have a right to enter into lawful dissent if we feel we are being governed unjustly.

“Contrary to common belief, our sovereign and her government are only there to govern us and not rule us.

“This must be done within the constraint of our common law and the freedoms asserted to us by such law. Nothing can become law in this country if it falls outside of this simple constraint.

“I am not under any obligation, nor will I, answer any questions or give you any details. I am a living persons and statutory regulations only apply with my consent.”

The letter continued to demand proof for eight different clauses before Quinn Blakey Hairdressing salon said they would agree to close.

The Yorkshire Evening Post made a number of attempts to contact the salon via phone, Facebook and Instagram.

The salon is now back open legally as the lockdown period has ended.