London Daily

Focus on the big picture.
Saturday, Oct 04, 2025

Deaf girl 'turned away' for not wearing mask after shop staff 'demanded proof'

Deaf girl 'turned away' for not wearing mask after shop staff 'demanded proof'

The mum of a deaf girl claims they were ‘turned away’ from a store for not wearing face masks after staff demanded ‘paper proof’ of her disability.

Julie Muller, 41, and daughter, Sadie-Grace, 8, are exempt from wearing face-coverings as they lip-read to communicate.

The mother pointed out to staff that Sadie-Grace was wearing hearing implants on her head when they were stopped outside a Cotswold Outdoor shop in Newcastle on August 8.

However, she was left ‘heartbroken’ after being turned away, and fears the incident will affect Sadie-Grace’s self-confidence in the future.

Ms Muller said she was stopped at the entrance by a worker who asked where her mask was.

She said: ‘I said: “I’m exempt because my daughter’s deaf and she needs to be able to read my lips.”

When asked for proof of the disability, Julie replied: ‘You can have a look on her head.’

She added: ‘I embarrassed my daughter. I showed her the implants on her head.’

But the employee allegedly replied: ‘That’s not good enough, I need paper proof’.


Julie fears the incident will affect Sadie-Grace’s self-confidence

A shop manager also initially refused to give Julie and Sadie access – before allowing them in, but warning they would not be served without a mask ‘due to company policy’.

Cotswold Outdoor has claimed Julie and Sadie-Grace were ‘welcomed’ inside after Julie explained why she was unable to wear a mask.

The company confirmed staff were unable to ‘provide any full close-contact services’.

However, mum-of-three Julie has made a complaint and has vowed to ‘never set foot back in that shop’.

She said: ‘What was heartbreaking was Sadie asked her dad, “Am I not allowed in the shops because I’m deaf?” I had to explain it was not because she’s deaf, it’s because I need the mask.’

Cotswold Outdoor said in a statement it has stopped asking customers for proof of exemption. It is now following up the incident ‘as a priority’.

A company spokesperson insisted it had been ‘conscientious’ in implementing guidance on facemasks as ‘sensitively as possible’.


The mum has made a complaint after visiting the shop


They said: ‘With regard to this particular situation my understanding is that the customer, but not her daughter, was initially asked to wear a face covering when entering our Newcastle store.

‘As soon as the store manager was made aware that the customer needed her daughter to be able to see her mouth to lip read, the manager welcomed the customers into the store without requiring them to wear a face covering.

‘However, he did explain that we wouldn’t be able to provide them with any full close-contact services such as boot fitting, at that time.’

Newsletter

Related Articles

0:00
0:00
Close
Trump Administration Launches “TrumpRx” Plan to Enable Direct Drug Sales at Deep Discounts
Trump Announces Intention to Impose 100 Percent Tariff on Foreign-Made Films
Altman Says GPT-5 Already Outpaces Him, Warns AI Could Automate 40% of Work
Singapore and Hong Kong Vie to Dominate Asia’s Rising Gold Trade
Trump Organization Teams with Saudi Developer on $1 Billion Trump Plaza in Jeddah
Manhattan Sees Surge in Office-to-Housing Conversions, Highest Since 2008
Switzerland and U.S. Issue Joint Assurance Against Currency Manipulation
Electronic Arts to Be Taken Private in Historic $55 Billion Buyout
Thomas Jacob Sanford Named as Suspect in Deadly Michigan Church Shooting and Arson
Russian Research Vessel 'Yantar' Tracked Mapping Europe’s Subsea Cables, Raising Security Alarms
New York Man Arrested After On-Air Confession to 2017 Parents’ Murders
U.S. Defense Chief Orders Sudden Summit of Hundreds of Generals and Admirals
Global Cruise Industry Posts Dramatic Comeback with 34.6 Million Passengers in 2024
Trump Claims FBI Planted 274 Agents at Capitol Riot, Citing Unverified Reports
India: Internet Suspended in Bareilly Amid Communal Clashes Between Muslims and Hindus
Supreme Court Extends Freeze on Nearly $5 Billion in U.S. Foreign Aid at Trump’s Request
Archaeologists Recover Statues and Temples from 2,000-Year-Old Sunken City off Alexandria
China Deploys 2,000 Workers to Spain to Build Major EV Battery Factory, Raising European Dependence
Speed Takes Over: How Drive-Through Coffee Chains Are Rewriting U.S. Coffee Culture
U.S. Demands Brussels Scrutinize Digital Rules to Prevent Bias Against American Tech
Ringo Starr Champions Enduring Beatles Legacy While Debuting Las Vegas Art Show
Private Equity’s Fundraising Surge Triggers Concern of European Market Shake-Out
Colombian President Petro Vows to Mobilize Volunteers for Gaza and Joins List of Fighters
FBI Removes Agents Who Kneeled at 2020 Protest, Citing Breach of Professional Conduct
Trump Alleges ‘Triple Sabotage’ at United Nations After Escalator and Teleprompter Failures
Shock in France: 5 Years in Prison for Former President Nicolas Sarkozy
Tokyo’s Jimbōchō Named World’s Coolest Neighbourhood for 2025
European Officials Fear Trump May Shift Blame for Ukraine War onto EU
BNP Paribas Abandons Ban on 'Controversial Weapons' Financing Amid Europe’s Defence Push
Typhoon Ragasa Leaves Trail of Destruction Across East Asia Before Making Landfall in China
The Personality Rights Challenge in India’s AI Era
Big Banks Rebuild in Hong Kong as Deal Volume Surges
Italy Considers Freezing Retirement Age at 67 to Avert Scheduled Hike
Italian City to Impose Tax on Visiting Dogs Starting in 2026
Arnault Denounces Proposed Wealth Tax as Threat to French Economy
Study Finds No Safe Level of Alcohol for Dementia Risk
Denmark Investigates Drone Incursion, Does Not Rule Out Russian Involvement
Lilly CEO Warns UK Is ‘Worst Country in Europe’ for Drug Prices, Pulls Back Investment
Nigel Farage Emerges as Central Force in British Politics with Reform UK Surge
Disney Reinstates ‘Jimmy Kimmel Live!’ after Six-Day Suspension over Charlie Kirk Comments
U.S. Prosecutors Move to Break Up Google’s Advertising Monopoly
Nvidia Pledges Up to $100 Billion Investment in OpenAI to Power Massive AI Data Center Build-Out
U.S. Signals ‘Large and Forceful’ Support for Argentina Amid Market Turmoil
Nvidia and Abu Dhabi’s TII Launch First AI-&-Robotics Lab in the Middle East
Vietnam Faces Up to $25 Billion Export Loss as U.S. Tariffs Bite
Europe Signals Stronger Support for Taiwan at Major Taipei Defence Show
Indonesia Court Upholds Military Law Amid Concerns Over Expanded Civilian Role
Larry Ellison, Michael Dell and Rupert Murdoch Join Trump-Backed Bid to Take Over TikTok
Trump and Musk Reunite Publicly for First Time Since Fallout at Kirk Memorial
Vietnam Closes 86 Million Untouched Bank Accounts Over Biometric ID Rules
×