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A veteran LGBTQ+ rights campaigner has claimed he was ‘forcibly removed’ from Birmingham Pride after police ‘laughed’ at him.
Peter Tatchell, 73, said an officer ordered him to leave the Pride parade, claiming event organisers had requested his removal.
Pride organisers have denied this, stressing to Metro that they permitted Tatchell to march.
Tatchell gave a speech at the start of the parade in the West Midlands city on Saturday morning where he spoke about the arrests of gay and bisexual men before homosexuality was decriminalised in 2004.
He was using a loudhailer and holding a sign reading: ‘West Midlands police refuse to apologise for anti-LGBT+ witch-hunts. SHAME! #ApologiseNow’ during the march.
About an hour later, he set off on the march. The campaigner said he and five others from the Peter Tatchell Foundation were walking down New Street when they saw several police officers approach them.
The activist said a senior officer told him to leave, saying he did not have a permit.
He added he was then ‘frog marched’ out of the parade.
Peter Tatchell spoke out against West Midlands Police’s historic arrests of queer men (Picture: Peter Tatchell)
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Speaking to Metro, Tatchell said: ‘The police response was to crowd around me, blowing whistles, so my message could not be heard.
‘What was particularly upsetting was when I told the story of how two men attempted suicide because of police prosecution. The officers laughed in my face.’
Tatchell said: ‘I showed him my wristband and said, “Here’s proof I have permission, plus, I am a guest, so they would never instruct me to leave”.
‘I asked the officer what the name of the Pride organiser who instructed you to remove me was. No answer.’
The campaigner says he was ‘frog marched’ out of the parade (Picture: Peter Tatchell)
Photographs and video taken at the parade show officers leading Tatchell out of the parade, holding him by the arms and forcing him forward.
He was not arrested.
Tatchell said: ‘The officers dumped me on the pavement. I got the very strong impression that, if I had further resisted, I would have been arrested.
‘It’s sadly typical of the way in which the police across Britain are increasingly clamping down on freedom of expression and the right to protest.
‘I’m just astonished that the police would dare abuse their power to fabricate allegations and to stop me making a lawful criticism.’
Birmingham Pride CEO Lawrence Barton said ‘categorically’ that organisers allowed Tatchell to march.
Seven police officers surrounded Tatchell, he claimed (Picture: Peter Tatchell)
Barton told Metro: ‘Peter was an invited guest speaker to Pride, he was asked by me to speak at the Big Free Community event and at Centenary Square to officially launch Pride.
‘His foundation was officially booked through our official process. Peter’s call for an apology from [West Midlands Police] is a position I support.’
Before being gay was fully decriminalised, UK police forces routinely raided nightclubs, bars and saunas, particularly in the 1970s, 80s and 90s.
Officers held stakeouts in parks and public toilets to arrest queer people for ‘gross indecency’, while some were convicted for public displays of affection under public order and breach of the peace laws.
West Midlands Police has not formally apologised for the decades-old arrests, unlike other forces such as the Met Police.
Chief Constable Craig Guildford declined to do so in 2023 when asked by Tatchell, saying the police were responsible for enforcing laws which would be viewed ‘very differently today’.
Tatchell said he was ‘astonished’ by the incident (Picture: Peter Tatchell)
Tatchell said: ‘There were probably 50 officers marching in the parade. Not a single one at any point expressed sorrow or regret about the way in which the LGBTQ+ community had been ill-treated in the past.’
Marching alongside Tatchell was Matthew Lloyd, a member of the inclusive faith group Queer Church Birmingham.
The former national co-chair of LGBT+ Labour told Metro that calling on the West Midlands Police to apologise is a ‘long-standing demand in our community’.
He said: ‘It’s disgraceful that officers forcibly removed Peter from the parade – especially under the false claim that Pride organisers had asked for it.
‘This heavy-handed policing reflects a deeper problem: a lack of understanding of Pride as a protest and a deafness to the police’s own history when dealing with the queer community, our venues and our safe spaces.’
The force told Metro: ‘We assisted security staff at the event with the removal of a man who made his way amongst people who were taking part in the parade. He was not arrested.’
Tatchell has been campaigning for LGBTQ+ rights for decades (Picture: PA)
Asked about allegations that officers ‘laughed’ at Tatchell, the police said: ‘West Midlands Police have not received a complaint about this but we are open to listen to any which are formally made to us.’
Ahead of the parade, the police said that officers will be ‘out and about keeping you safe at Birmingham Pride’.
Chief Superintendent Phil Dolby said: ‘Our officers are there to support you, so please do speak to them if you have any concerns about safety – or feel free to just say hello.’
Get in touch with our news team by emailing us at webnews@metro.co.uk.
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