Just days before this weekend’s Pride parade in Northern England, a court ruling in Northumbria has ignited outrage across the queer community. In a controversial decision, British judge Mr. Justice Linden ruled that uniformed police officers who marched under the Progress Pride flag at last year’s parade breached their duty of impartiality. The judge sided with a female event participant, Lindsey Smith, who claimed the officers’ presence and the display of Pride imagery—including a rainbow-colored police van—threatened her safety and showed support for “gender ideology.”
Linden stated, “The fact that they wore their uniforms, marched as a contingent, and carried the Police Pride and other flags demonstrated their support for the cause as police officers,” adding that this implied bias against those with “gender critical” views.
“It is not hard to imagine circumstances in which officers in question might be called on to deal with a clash between gender critical people and supporters of gender ideology, and therefore situations where the former had cause for concern as to whether they were being dealt with impartially.”
Critics of the ruling say it’s laced with bias itself and could roll back years of progress in police and LGBTQ community trust. In response, Northumbria Police said their priority last year was to keep people safe, and added that marching in Pride gave them a chance to engage with people, including those who may have less confidence in policing. The department hasn’t yet confirmed if officers will participate in this weekend’s Pride.
