By Simon Harris of the Peter Tatchell Foundation
London, UK – 27th November 2024
The #ApologiseNow campaign began its journey in 2019, but faced delays due to unforeseen events: the Covid-19 pandemic, the death of Queen Elizabeth II, and the untimely passing of the late, great Paul O’Grady. Despite these challenges, it ultimately became the most successful police apology initiative of its kind anywhere in the world.
Britain has a long and fraught history of institutionalised homophobia, particularly within its police forces. For decades, LGBT+ individuals were harassed, arrested, beaten up, framed, maliciously prosecuted and publicly outed by officers.
Raids on gay bars, clubs, and even private birthday parties were common. Officers hurled slurs like “poofs” and “queers” and routinely leaked the names and addresses of arrested gay men to local newspapers. This exposure led to evictions, job losses and violent attacks. Simply leaving a gay venue or showing affection in public—holding hands or kissing—was enough to warrant police insults and arrest, a practice that persisted well into the late 1990s.
I recall drinking in a London pub years ago, where the fear wasn’t just of a homophobic attack but of being beaten by the police officers stationed outside.
In their pursuit of inflated arrest figures, the police targeted gay and bisexual men. Young, attractive male officers were sent into parks and public toilets to act as agent provocateurs to entrap men into committing “offences” and then arresting them—a tactic infamously known as the work of the “pretty police.”
Ironically, after the partial decriminalisation of homosexuality in 1967, the number of recorded homosexual offences in England and Wales tripled, evidence of an intensified police witch-hunt. Lives were destroyed.
While the police didn’t write the discriminatory laws, they enforced them with zeal. High-profile figures like Greater Manchester’s Chief Constable James Anderton infamously declared during the AIDS crisis that gay men were “swirling around in a cesspit of their own making.”
Paul O’Grady, as his alter ego Lily Savage, experienced this police victimisation firsthand during one of the most notorious police raids at the Royal Vauxhall Tavern in 1987. He later recounted, “I’d only been there for about ten minutes when a copper burst into the dressing room. I thought he was a stripper. He was so rude and aggressive. And when I came out on stage, they were all wearing rubber gloves. I said: ‘Oh good, have you come to do the washing up?’ Pandemonium broke out, and people were terrified.”
The devastation caused by these abusive police actions compelled the Peter Tatchell Foundation to push for formal apologies and better protections for LGBT+ individuals.
We conceived the #ApologiseNow campaign, with Paul O’Grady as one of its most enthusiastic supporters. He provided statements and even recorded a video backing the initiative. We originally planned to launch in 2020, but the pandemic forced us to delay. In 2022, we prepared to confront the incoming Metropolitan Police Commissioner on his first day in his new job, but the Queen’s death disrupted our plans again.
Our Communications and Fundraising Manager, Simon Harris, with Paul O’Grady as they mapped out the #ApologiseNow campaign at the RVT.
The next strategy involved a House of Lords event, where Baroness Helena Kennedy QC would question Paul in a mock hearing about the police’s actions. Tragically, Paul’s passing prompted yet another rethink. Determined to honour his memory, Peter insisted we move forward.
We began by opening a dialogue with the Metropolitan Police, not expecting much in return. To our surprise, we secured a series of meetings with a Superintendent who genuinely believed that an apology was warranted. The challenge, however, was whether he could convince the Commissioner to actually say the words “We’re sorry.”
Peter made the case as passionately and persuasively as possible, but our optimism remained cautious at best.
Finally, in June 2023, the campaign launched at the House of Lords. Thirty minutes before we began the Metropolitan Police issued an apology and announced new LGBT+ liaison officers to help rebuild trust with the community. An apology and action. Wow!
Since then, 20 other police forces across the UK have apologised. I attended Merseyside Police’s apology event, where the Chief Constable’s heartfelt remorse moved many, including a trans man who had suffered deeply under the force’s past victimisation. For him, the apology marked a turning point in his ability to heal.
However, not all forces have embraced accountability. The West Midlands Police have outright refused to apologise, while Greater Manchester Police have ignored our letters entirely.
Despite these setbacks, no other campaign for police apologies elsewhere in the world has achieved such success – 21 Chief Constables have said sorry. Yet our work isn’t done. Twenty-four forces still owe LGBTs an apology, and improved pro-LGBT+ policies. We won’t stop until we get them. With your support and funding, the fight continues—we want their apologies, and we want them now!