Police joining Pride protests was always a step too far
Police officers who actively participate in Pride marches are breaking the law, according to a landmark judgment in the High Court. In a decision that’s likely to have a profound effect on how chief constables behave in future, Mr Justice Linden today ruled that the sight of uniformed officers marching, displaying the Progress flag and turning up in official vehicles painted in Pride colours breaches their duty of impartiality.
The defendant in the case was Vanessa Jardine, chief constable of Northumbria Police, who joined the Newcastle Pride in the City 2024 march with her officers in July last year. The judge said that Jardine’s decision to participate was “irrational”, pointing out that every police officer swears an oath to behave with “integrity, diligence and impartiality”.
