Police may be banned from joining in Pride parades

Uniformed police face being effectively banned from taking part in Pride parades after a “wide-reaching” ruling at the High Court.

- ATHENA STAVROU

The judgment, handed down on Wednesday, ruled that officers were wrong to have taken part in Newcastle’s Pride parade last The case was brought by Linzi Smith, who describes herself in court documents as a “lesbian who is ‘gender critical,” who “believes that a person’s sex is an immutable characteristic”.

She argued that police breached their impartiality obligations by taking part in the event and appearing under a banner supporting transgender people’s rights.

The judge, Mr Justice Linden, agreed with her and ruled that the Chief Constable of Northumbria Police, Vanessa Jardine, acted unlawfully when she allowed uniformed officers to take part in the event last year.

The ruling is likely to have wide-reaching implications for how police are able to participate in community events across the country.

Chief Constable Gavin Stephens, chair of the National Police Chiefs’ Council, said the organisation is “working through the detail” of the judgment and is working to create broader guidance to help local forces “make decisions around participation in events to maintain their impartiality”.