High Court ruling against police participation in Pride welcomed

A judge’s ruling declaring the participation of uniformed law enforcement officials in a Pride march to be illegal has been welcomed.

The case was brought by Linzi Smith, a resident of Newcastle and a “gender critical” lesbian who doesn’t imagine men can turn into women and vice versa.

Smith brought a case against Northumbria Police Chief Constable Vanessa Jardine, arguing that police participation in a Pride march indicated support for a particular political ideology and that consequently members of the general public couldn’t trust the police to fairly adjudicate disagreements on that ideology.

Mr Justice Linden, speaking on the High Court in Leeds sided against Chief Constable Jardine, saying that allowing officers to participate in Pride events was “outside the range of reasonable decisions open to her”.

Smith welcomed the choice, hailing it as a victory for police impartiality. She said the police had “abandoned their duty of impartiality and embraced a highly controversial political cause”, reports the BBC.

“Their participation within the Pride march clearly shows where their sympathies lie. My hope is Northumbria Police change their ways and follow this ruling. If they do, they shall be policing the community for everybody.”

The ruling has been welcomed by the director of The Christian Institute, Ciarán Kelly, who said the judgment “struck a significant blow against the capture of the police by LGBT ideology and will spell the top for ‘rainbow’ vehicles and other LGBT branding”.

Following the ruling Northumbria Police confirmed that in future only off duty law enforcement officials will have the ability to hitch Pride marches but they usually are not to achieve this in uniform. However the police said it will still maintain a stall at Pride events and that it will be manned by uniformed officers, but no Pride insignia could be displayed.

Northumbria Police has since announced that every one Pride rainbows and transgender livery is to be faraway from its vehicles.

The force has been criticised up to now for being overly zealous enforcers of LGBT ideology. In March this yr the force was criticised by free-speech campaigner and former police officer Harry Miller, who called its investigation into Smith “utterly corrupt”.

Miller described Smith’s successful case against the force as a “fabulous victory”.

Welcoming Northumbria Police’s response to the ruling, Smith said, “The impartiality of the police is important in ensuring these events can happen in a way that doesn’t restrict free speech. My hope is that my case can have brought the Northumbria Police and other forces back to their core responsibility of policing without fear or favour.”