UK police force accused of ‘LGBT bias’ after town Pride event | UK | News
A police force in the UK has come under criticism for supporting Pride events; The judicial review argued that officers could not claim impartiality when dealing with disputes over transgender rights. Sarah Phillimore, lawyer and co-founder of organization Fair Cop, said Wiltshire Police’s involvement in Swindon’s summer Pride event exposed staff collusion and a lack of impartiality. The judicial review against the force’s Chief Constable for allegedly breaching the duty to remain impartial follows a similar case against Northumbria Police earlier this year.
The High Court ruled in the summer that the force’s support for transgender rights, including displaying flags on its vehicles as a sign of solidarity, risked casting doubt on “fairness and impartiality”.
Mr Justice Linden said: “It is not difficult to imagine circumstances in which the officers in question might be called to deal with a conflict between people who are critical of gender and those who support gender ideology, and where the former would therefore be cause for concern as to whether they were being treated impartially.”
Although the decision was specific to the Northumbria force, it has encouraged campaigners such as Ms Phillimore to seek similar action elsewhere, particularly when it concerns uniformed officers expressing their views on controversial issues.
James Gardner of Conrathe Gardner LLP, speaking on behalf of Ms Phillimore, said Wiltshire Police was “in full support” of this summer’s Swindon Pride event, with “a stand manned by staff wearing police t-shirts with Pride motifs and Progress lanyards, displaying Pride and Progress flags and handing out Pride stickers to the public”. Telegram reports.
Amid growing national and global tensions over transgender rights, arising from a mix of political polarization and fundamental disagreements between biological sex and gender identity, Mr Gardner suggested the show implied “the police are supporting transgender causes”.
“Pride is a political cause and Wiltshire Police should not support it,” he added. “This unlawful behavior must be held accountable.”
Inspector Conway Duncan had insisted in an earlier interview that police attended the event only as part of “official police involvement”.
He told local media: “A policy decision has been made to allow on-duty participation in Swindon and Wiltshire Pride by officers and staff only where it forms part of the official police response. Our officers were rightfully undertaking their role in a visible capacity both inside and outside the event, including community participation.”
A spokesman for Wiltshire Police said: “We are responding to an allegation regarding our attendance at Swindon and Wiltshire Community Pride events. As this is an ongoing legal matter it would be inappropriate to comment further at this stage.”
