Sam Decombel Dr Decombel was refused entry to an EU conference because she is pregnant

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Dr Samantha Decombel is considering suing the European Commission after pen pushers told her to stay away from the academic gathering because they did not want to “risk” her health. The respected academic said she suspects that the organisers of the conference may have initially thought she was a man because she shortens her name to ‘Sam’.

She was initially asked to talk at the event , which took place in Brussels last week, but had her invitation withdrawn when she revealed that she needed to travel by train because she would be six months pregnant. In emails EU bureaucrats told the diet and fitness expert that they were not “very enthusiastic to take a risk for her health making her travel to Brussels at the late stage of her pregnancy” But the super fit scientist whose companies FitnessGenes and PlayDNA featured on Dragon’s Den, said she was perfectly able to attend and believes she was discriminated against.

Sam Decombel The scientist says she was outraged by the rejection

Sam Decombel She is now threatening to take legal action against the European Commission

I am incredibly surprised to find that this is an attitude that still exists Dr Samantha Decombel

She said: ”Turning away a pregnant speaker, who is in excellent health, seems to me to be the perfect demonstration of why this is still such an issue for many mothers, and the absolute opposite of what I would hope the European Commission would want to convey. “I am incredibly surprised to find that this is an attitude that still exists within a respected and apparently forward-thinking public body.” Despite her protestations the EU Commission refused to reconsider its position and the scientist was not able to attend.

Sam Decombel The scientist previously featured on Dragons' Den

Sam Decombel She is an expert on fitness and diet