Caledonian Club calls women to the bar after 119 years of men only

A gentlemen's club has been forced to break with 119 years of tradition to offer women full membership under new equality laws.

The Caledonian Club in Mayfair will now have to allow women to drink at the bar use the smoking room and have the option of voting rights. The private members' club is instituting the reforms to comply with the Equality Act which came into effect on October 1 and outlaws discrimination based on gender, race or sexual orientation.

Notable Caledonian members of the past include Labour Party leader John Smith and John Logie Baird, who invented one of the world's first television sets.

A number of other traditional members' clubs in London will be affected by the legislation, but some of the oldest and most well-known gentlemen's clubs, such as White's and Boodle's, can still legally refuse membership to women.

However, clubs which already offered an associate or restricted membership to women must now give them the same rights as men.

Membership of The Caledonian Club was initially limited to Scotsmen and those with close Scottish affiliations; it will still be able to restrict access to those who have no Scottish connections, but "lady associate members" will now be upgraded to full membership status.