Trans issues to the fore at London's Pride parade

As tens of thousands gathered in London for the capital's annual Pride parade, LGBT+ artists decried the Supreme Court ruling on the definition of a woman and expressed fears that trans people are being "villainised more than ever".

- REBECCA THOMAS

At a rainy Pride in London parade yesterday, the mayor, Sir Sadiq Khan, shouted "happy Pride" and thousands of people walked through central London, alongside staff at The Independent, the official news partner for the event.

At one stage, protesters from the Youth Demand activist group blocked the parade route, and there were shouts for “trans rights now” as rain started to fall yesterday afternoon.

The American singer Chaka Khan headlined the event in which around 500 organisations filed from Hyde Park Corner, through Piccadilly Circus, and on to Whitehall Place.

Olly Alexander, the actor and former Years And Years singer, said: “Trans people right now, they need our support and love more than ever. They’re being villainised, demonised by a lot of the media, and trans people, they’re just like us... they’re you, they’re me.