Protesters storm first drag queen storytime for primary school children

Jul 27, 2022 by Jill

by Ewan Somerville, Telegraph:

Mothers infiltrate library event, saying: ‘We’re here to protect children’.

The first drag queen “story hour” for children in a UK-wide tour of council libraries has descended into chaos after it was stormed by protesters and the performer was given a police escort.

They branded the police officers and council staff, who refused to let them in, as “paedophile protectors” and brandished banners and megaphones.

The project is run by Sab Samuel, a 27-year-old autistic male children’s author, who performs as Aida H Dee in a sequined dress with heavy make-up.

Mr Samuel, dressed in sparkly leggings, was eventually escorted out of the library’s back door by police officers who carried his bags and loaded his car, while a “human wall” of officers and a riot van separated him from protesters.

The tour, involving 3,000 children with tickets open to all parents, claims to “teach inclusivity” and “get fabulous”. It is promoted on council websites.

After Reading, the summer tour is visiting council libraries in areas such as Crewe, Bristol, Cornwall, Brighton and Hove, Portsmouth, Leeds, Cardiff, Rochdale, Bolton and Somerset. More protests are planned elsewhere.

On Tuesday, other campaigners questioned whether the rest of the tour was now feasible, having spent weeks peacefully petitioning councils not to endorse the “sexualised” appearance of men dressed as women.

Piers Shepherd, a senior researcher at the Family Education Trust charity, said: “It is a matter of concern that police resources will be used in this way when there are so many pressing problems in need of their attention.

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