A police watchdog has been accused of losing its neutrality after marching in Pride parades and signing up to a Stonewall diversity scheme.
Harry Miller, a former police officer turned free speech campaigner, is taking legal action against the Independent Office for Police Conduct (IOPC), arguing its open support for Pride events breaches its duty to remain politically impartial.
Mr Miller’s campaign group, Fair Cop, which campaigns to keep politics out of policing, is launching a judicial review against the IOPC, the body that investigates complaints made against police officers.
The move follows the watchdog’s participation in this summer’s Pride march through the capital, where staff carried an official banner and posed for photographs under rainbow flags.
In a post on its official social media account, the organisation declared:
“As part of our ongoing commitment to promoting equality, diversity and inclusion, we are thrilled to announce that the IOPC will be at London Pride on Sat July 5; where we will stand with the community to spread love and acceptance to celebrate LGBTQ+ people.”
Mr Miller claims the IOPC’s involvement with Pride, and its paid membership of Stonewall’s Diversity Champions programme, calls its impartiality into question when handling cases involving LGBT or gender-related issues.
“Pride is political,” he said. “Its symbols, flags, and slogans are political. It is irrelevant that Pride is also a celebration.
“By way of comparison, the Orange Parade is a celebration of Protestantism, but no police officer would wave an orange flag or lace their boots with orange laces in order to signal support to the Protestant community.”
Mr Miller said the watchdog’s stance risked undermining confidence among complainants.
“It’s imperative the IOPC is seen to be resolutely neutral when dealing with complaints,” he said. “Yet what happens to those who have made a complaint regarding their local force’s commitment to gender ideology?
“They discover the IOPC is also entrenched in it. This is Orwellian.”
The legal challenge follows a High Court ruling earlier this year which found that Northumbria Police had acted unlawfully by joining a Pride parade, with the judge ruling it “breached their professional oath to operate with impartiality.”
Lawyer Paul Conrathe, partner at Conrathe Gardner LLP and representing Fair Cop, accused the IOPC of “abandoning any semblance of impartiality.”
He said: “By supporting Pride events in IOPC T-shirts and posing in front of a Pride Progress flag carrying the IOPC logo, the IOPC has abandoned any semblance of impartiality.
“The IOPC is also a Stonewall Champion which means it pays an annual membership fee for receiving guidance and expertise from the charity.
“These actions patently give the public the impression that the police support trans causes, which are based on the deeply contested issue of gender ideology.
“Pride is a political cause, and the IOPC should not be supporting it. They need to be called to account for this unlawful conduct. The neutrality of the British police is lost if they are supporting political organisations.”
An IOPC spokesperson said: “We received notice of a claim for judicial review being brought against the IOPC last week and we will be responding within the timeframes required.”
What do you think? Should the police be taking part in Pride marches — or should they stay strictly neutral when it comes to politics and protest? Tell us your thoughts in the comments below.
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