Peter Tatchell says that he was forcibly removed from the Birmingham Pride March by the police while calling for West Midlands police to apologise for the anti-gay witch hunts that took place between 1950 and 2003.
He was highlighting a period when thousands of LGBTs were arrested and for which he was demanding an apology before being seen to be removed by the police.
As Peter explained, “West Midlands police arrested same-sex couples for kissing, raided gay bars and private birthday parties, abused LGBTs as queers, poofs and benders and assaulted people who questioned their illegality and homophobia. They outed LGBTs to the press, who then published their names and addresses.”
He also said, “In the 1970s and 80s, West Midlands officers arrested thousands of gay and bisexual men for consenting, victimless behaviour. They were one of the most viciously homophobic police forces in the country, with arrest figures way above the national average.”
Campaign #ApologiseNow
The ongoing campaign #ApologiseNow, launched by Peter and backed by the comedian and TV presenter Paul O’Grady before his death, has led to several police forces apologising. Forces that have apologised include London Metropolitan Police, South Yorkshire Police, Merseyside Police and City of London Police. Meanwhile, the Chief Constable of West Midlands, Craig Guildford, refuses to apologise.
During this period, in January 1987, Paul O’Grady was on stage as Lilly Savage at The Royal Vauxhall Tavern in London when the venue was raided by police. Thirty-five Metropolitan Police officers wearing rubber gloves stormed in, causing considerable distress to those of us inside.
Watch Paul O´Grady’s recollection of the Police raid on The RVT:
The first to apologise was the Metropolitan Police Commissioner Sir Mark Rowley, who sent a personal letter in 2023 to Peter Tatchell saying “sorry” to the LGBT+ community for his force’s past homophobic persecution.
Sir Mark wrote, “The Met has had systems and processes in place which have led to bias and discrimination in the way we have policed London’s communities, and in the way we have treated our officers and staff, over many decades. Recent cases of appalling behaviour by some officers have revealed that there are still racists, misogynists, homophobes and transphobes in the organisation, and we have already doubled down on rooting out those who corrupt and abuse their position.”
Sir Mark added, “I am clear that there is much for us to do. I am sorry to all of the communities we have let down for the failings of the past and look forward to building a new Met for London, one all Londoners can be proud of and in which they can have confidence.”
Peter Tatchell calls for an apology from Chief Constable Of West Midlands
In a press release complaining about his treatment by the West Midlands Police at Birmingham Pride, Peter Tatchell said:
“The Chief Constable of West Midlands, Craig Guildford, has repeatedly refused to say sorry for his force’s past ill-treatment of the LGBT+ community.
“Guildford chickened out of marching in Birmingham Pride when he heard there were going to be protests. For years, he has declined all offers of dialogue and has failed to discuss our concerns.”
While it has been made clear by Peter that Chief Constable Craig Guildford is not personally responsible for the witch-hunts, he noted, “West Midlands police apologised in 2020 to the black community for its history of racism. Why are they refusing to say sorry to the LGBT+ community for similar abuses? This smacks of homophobic double standards.”
Why was Peter Tatchell removed from Birmingham Pride March?
Peter Tatchell said about his removal from the march: “When I challenged them, the police said the Pride organisers told them I was not authorised to march in the Pride and had ordered the police to remove me. That is a shocking false claim. The Pride CEO, Lawrence Barton, authorised me to march in the parade and never gave the police any instructions to remove me. Mr Barton later told me he was appalled by the police behaviour.”
“The police clearly removed me because they objected to my criticism of their past homophobia.”
Peter Tatchell
He continued, “This is another example of police abusing their powers to crack down on peaceful protest. Once again freedom of speech and the right to protest has been unlawfully eroded.”
Peter Tatchell is calling for the officers that were involved to “face disciplinary action”. He is also calling for a “public apology from the Chief Constable for the police fabricating reasons and forcibly removing me from the parade.”
Watch video of Peter Tatchell being removed from Birmingham Pride March by the police here:
Statement from Birmingham Pride
Birmingham Pride’s David Nash told QX, “I can confirm that Peter was invited by Birmingham Pride to be a guest speaker at Birmingham Pride on Friday night and at the launch of the pride parade on Saturday. Peter and his colleagues were authorised to take part in the march. We are continuing to make further enquiries.”
Statement from West Midlands Police
As reported by Pink News, West Midlands Police issued a statement: “We assisted security staff at Saturday’s event with the removal of a man who made his way amongst people who were taking part in the parade. He was not arrested.”
All images provided by The Peter Tatchell Foundation.
