Met Police chief issues apology for homophobic persecution after Paul O'Grady-backed campaign
The late TV star Paul O’Grady was set to front the campaign for an apology - and his husband was present as the Met chief's letter was read out on Wednesday
Peter Tatchell and the late Paul O’Grady, who was to front the campaign (Photo: Peter Tatchell Foundation)
The Commissioner of London’s Metropolitan Police Service, Sir Mark Rowley, has issued an apology to the city’s LGBT+ community for historical homophobic persecution by the force.
His apology came in response to a campaign launched on Wednesday by Peter Tatchell, which late TV star Paul O’Grady was set to front before his death. In a video for the campaign, O’Grady had recalled 1980s police raids on gay bars during his time performing as drag icon Lily Savage.
In a letter to Mr Tatchell, Sir Mark acknowledged “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” as he vowed to root out remaining “racists, misogynists, homophobes and transphobes in the organisation”.
He continued: “Past legislation set down by parliament, rather than the police, criminalised certain behaviour. But even in this wider societal context, I recognise that historic actions, systems and processes in the way it was enforced, and the way LGBT+ Londoners have been treated, failed the community and persist in the collective memory of LGBT+ Londoners of all ages.
“Whilst there have been significant improvements over the years, the community has the lowest levels of confidence in the Met.”
He also acknowledged that “concerns have been exacerbated” following the force’s handling of serial killer Stephen Port after the families of Port’s victims said homophobia left him free to kill again.
Promising a new “plan for LGBT+ Londoners”, he added: “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.”
Paul O’Grady’s husband, Andre Portasio, and manager, Joan Marshrons, were present on Wednesday as the letter was read at the launch event for the #ApologiseNow campaign, which is seeking similar apologies from forces across the UK.
In a video filmed before his death, Paul O’Grady gave his account of a police raid on the Royal Vauxhall Tavern on 24 January, 1987.
He said: “Police have apologised all around the world for their behaviour all those years ago. I think it is about time the British police did the same thing and said we are so sorry for what happened, because it was unnecessary. It was homophobic.
“I’d only been there for about ten minutes and a copper burst in the dressing room. I thought he was a stripper. He was so rude and so aggressive. And when I came out on the stage, they were all wearing rubber gloves. I said: ‘Oh good, have you come to do the washing up?’ There was pandemonium and people were scared.
“I was called a lascivious act in the South London Press and to tell you the truth I was delighted about that.
“Past injustices often cross my mind and this is one of them. The bloody cheek of them. It was disgusting, it was just offensive. We were being treated like animals. Pure homophobia that’s what it was. And nothing else will make me change my mind. So apologise, because I know where you are!”
Peter Tatchell said: “We thank Sir Mark Rowley for being the first UK police chief to say sorry. His apology is a ground-breaking step forward that will, we hope, spur other police forces to follow suit.
“It draws a line under past Met persecution. This will help strengthen LGBT+ trust and confidence in the police; encouraging more LGBTs to report hate crime, domestic violence and sexual assault.”
He added: “Officers raided gay bars, clubs and even private birthday parties, insulting LGBTs as ‘poofs’ and ‘queers’.
“They gave the names and addresses of arrested gay men to local papers, which led to some being evicted, sacked and violently beaten. Police harassed LGBTs leaving gay venues and arrested same-sex couples for kissing, cuddling and holding hands, right up until the 1990s.
“The police did not make the law but they chose to enforce it in ways that today would be deemed illegal and unacceptable. They went out of their way to target gay and bisexual men to boost their arrest figures and ‘crime fighting’ reputation. Young handsome male officers were sent into public toilets and parks, where they lured gay men into committing offences and then arrested them. These so-called ‘pretty police’ acted as agents provocateurs.
“At the height of this persecution in 1989, there were 1,718 convictions and cautions for so-called ‘gross indecency’ between men – almost as many as in 1954-55 when male homosexuality was totally illegal, and the country was gripped by a McCarthyite-style anti-gay witch hunt.
“If the police say they have changed, they need to show it by acknowledging past wrongs. They need to follow the lead of the Met Police commissioner. All chief constables should apologise for the many decades of past police harassment.”
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