from Free Speech Union
With top-drawer support from @WeAreFairCop, FSU member @RightNUFC has defeated Northumbria Police in the High Court. The case concerned the force’s decision to allow officers to march in Newcastle’s 2024 Pride in the City parade and to staff a police stall displaying the colours of the Progress flag, alongside a van painted in the same colours. In a judgment handed down today, Mr Justice Linden held that Chief Constable Vanessa Jardine acted unlawfully in authorising participation in this way. He found that the decision was not legally open to her, since “on any view” the activities would be likely to give rise to the impression that officers might not act impartially in discharging their policing duties, particularly where protests or public speech on gender are concerned. The judge also found the decision to be flawed on additional grounds, including a misunderstanding of the public sector equality duty. This ruling is expected to inform future decisions by police forces and other public bodies as to whether participation in Pride or similar campaigning events is compatible with legal duties of impartiality.
Read also: Police joining Pride protests was always a step too far by Joan Smith, UnHerd