MAS*H Star's Daughter Faces Legal Battle with Islanders Over Disability Dog's Café Entry Denial

THE daughter of a MAS*H star is locked in a bitter legal row with Outer Hebrides islanders who allegedly refused to allow her disability service dog inside a café.

Claire Kellerman, 62, whose late adoptive mother played Major Margaret ‘Hot Lips’ Houlihan in Robert Altman’s 1970 , is battling community over access rights for her pet, a Queensland heeler named Tarkina.

The tiny island of Great Bernera, off the coast of Scotland, is best known for its picturesque views and stunning beaches.

But it is now at the centre of a fierce conflict, with local sources alleging up to 16 separate disagreements between Ms Kellerman and area businesses.

The self-described “regenerative farming community designer” and practitioner of “Celtic Viking Mysticism” initially took action against the Bernera Community Development Trust.

However, after running up £7,000 in legal bills, Ms Kellerman’s lawyers had to admit they had targeted the wrong entity, which had no connection to the venue.

Those costs were awarded to the trust through Scottish Legal Aid, meaning the 62-year-old, who arrived on the island four years ago, did not have to pay a single penny of the fees.

Ms Kellerman’s solicitors, operating via Glasgow’s publicly funded Ethnic Minorities Law Centre, subsequently amended the claim to sue the café’s actual operators, the Bernera Community Association, for £10,000.

But last week, the BCA claimed it faces bankruptcy if the legal costs continue to grow in the already year-long dispute.

The charity is already relying on the money it makes through fundraising.

At Stornoway Sheriff Court last week, a sheriff ruled the case could proceed, setting a formal legal debate for December.

Ms Kellerman claims she has faced an “environment of targeted hostility” and accused the group of “unbridled abuses” of the Equality and Human Rights Act 2010.

She said she is “profoundly honoured” for the “opportunity” and for her “vibrant, robust legal team” who are helping her to expose the “normalisation of abuses on the Isle of Great Bernera, in the Bernera Community Cafe”.

In a LinkedIn post Ms Kellerman wrote: “I live by the guidance that follows my prayers, asking always; how can I be of Sacred Service?

“I am grateful to be encouraged by the many individuals who have been harmed the past decade on Bernera.”

Ms Kellerman added that she wants the legal action to invite “justice and spiritual growth” for the charity’s members.

She claimed that the café said her dog was barred because food was served, arguing they “simply refused to follow the law” and that she has been “victimised, bullied, and shouted at” in the street.

Ms Kellerman alleged: “They act self-righteously abusing, harassing, targeting and illegally discriminating against income.”

She is being supported by the Ethnic Minorities Law Centre, a Glasgow-based refugee charity, and has secured legal aid to fund her case.

Meanwhile, the island volunteers face an anxious wait until the winter court date to see if their community hub can survive.

Labour MSP Donald Mackinnon has written to the Scottish Legal Aid Board urging it to “urgently review” its funding of the case because of the potential damage to its reputation.

He said the case “raises broader concerns about the safeguards applied when public funds are used to support litigation”.

The Sun has approached Claire Kellerman and the BCA for comment.

Ms Kellerman’s mother Sally was nominated for an Oscar for best supporting actress in M*A*S*H, the 1970 war film, and had an illustrious career throughout that decade.