Thames Valley Police urged to apologise for its 'homophobic history' by LGBT+ campaigners

A campaign group has penned an open letter to Thames Valley Police urging the organisation for alleged homophobic actions in the past.

Human rights campaigner Peter Tatchell has asked Chief Constable Jason Hogg to apologise for the previous actions of officers.

The director of the human rights organisation, the Peter Tatchell Foundation, says Thames Valley Police devoted massive and disproportionate resources to hunt down LGBT+ people for consenting behaviour that harmed no one.

In his open letter Mr Tatchell said: “This zealousness went way beyond mere law enforcement.

“While you are not responsible for past wrongs, you are head of the force that witch-hunted us and wrecked LGBT+ lives.

“I would respectfully request that you put the past behind us by apologising to the LGBT+ community so that we can move forward together.”

Thames Valley Police has acknowledged Mr Tachtell’s letter and a need to improve trust among LGBT+ communities.

A force spokesman has also outlined the ways in which it is working to protect minority groups and improve the way it serves these groups.

Mr Tatchell does state in his letter that he does not expect the police force to apologise for enforcing historic homophobic laws. His campaign is linked to the way these laws were enforced.

He said: “I hope that a formal apology will be made to the LGBT+ community. It would help further improve LGBT+ trust and confidence in the police, which is what we all want.

“Sir Mark Rowley has already said sorry on behalf of the Metropolitan Police and backed it up with a new LGBT+ plan for London and the appointment of LGBT+ Community Liaison Officers in every London borough. Similar apologies have also been made by the Chief Constables of Sussex and South Yorkshire.”

Work for the campaign is being promoted across social media via #ApologiseNow. Paul O’Grady was said to be a backer of the campaign before his death.

Thames Valley Police spokesman said in response: “We are aware of a letter which has been sent to all forces and raises concerns from a national perspective around the police service's history with LGBT+ communities.

“In the Thames Valley we serve a diverse population and we are committed to building the trust of all our communities, including our LBGT+ community, through greater visibility, increased transparency and meaningful engagement.

“It is important that our workforce represent our communities and we are proud to say that we have a more diverse workforce than ever before. There is a wide range of support available to all our officers and staff which includes an active LGBT+ network.

“We are aware that we have a lot of work to do to improve the trust and confidence our LGBT+ communities have in our force and policing generally.

“Across the force, we have a network of LGBT+ liaison officers who support victims of hate crime, work directly with local specialist organisations and provide advice to senior leaders and investigating officers.

“We are actively seeking the view and voices of our staff and our communities continue to influence, educate and shape our approach to policing and the issues raised in this letter are themes we are already exploring with them. Their perspectives will inform our response following that activity.”