Uniformed police told they’re ‘not welcome’ at London Pride
London parade, organisers have said.The move comes after LGBTQ+ campaigners called for them to be barred due to Scotland Yard’s ‘homophobic’ handling of the investigation into the serial killer Stephen Port.Human rights campaigner, Peter Tatchell has said the investigation, which the independent police watchdog is investigating, showed ‘institutional homophobia is alive and kicking in the Metropolitan police’.Speaking to The Guardian, he said the case, as well as other recent revelations of homophobia, racism and misogyny within the force, meant Pride in London needed to take a stand on police officers’ participation in the event.‘While there are many good officers, and they are welcome to march in civilian clothes, Pride needs to challenge the police as an institution, otherwise they will never reform,’ Peter said.In a statement to the newspaper, Pride in London said: ‘We work hard to strike a balance between the very real and legitimate concerns from members of our community, and being as welcoming as we can.‘We agree that the police uniform undermines that balance, and as such we are aligned that it should not feature in our parade.’The move does not prevent individual officers from marching out of uniform.The Gay Liberation Front, which organised the first Pride march in 1972, has also signed an open letter calling for an end to not only police taking part in the parade but also patrolling the event.The letter, organised by Lesbians and Gays Support the Migrants, states: ‘Due to our deep-rooted concerns with policing – and the history of Pride itself as resistance against police violence – it is time to end the practice of police participation in Pride each year.‘It is time to end the presence of police banners.‘The.
