Northumbria Police participation in Newcastle Pride event ruled unlawful by high court judge

ITV News

17-07-2025

A police force acted unlawfully by allowing its officers to take part in a Pride event last year, a High Court judge has ruled.
Lindsey Smith, who lodged a complaint against Northumbria Police, describes herself as a 'gender critical' lesbian. She took legal action against the force over its decision to allow officers to participate in the Newcastle Pride in the City event last July, in which she also participated.
Ms Smith argued that officers' participation meant they would have been unable to remain impartial if a dispute between those with similar beliefs and transgender rights supporters, had occurred.
A Northumbria Police spokesperson said the force is committed to "providing each and every person of our wonderful region with an outstanding policing service".
Uniformed officers marched at the event last year with some carrying flags which included Pride colours alongside police insignia, and others wearing uniforms with the word 'police' in the Pride colours.
There was also a static display staffed by uniformed officers, which displayed a Progressive Pride flag, which includes representation of transgender and non-binary people, people of marginalised ethnicities and those living with Aids, the judge said.
A police van with the colours of the transgender Pride flag painted on its sides was also present, the court was told.
Lawyers for Ms Smith told the court that the officers' involvement breached impartiality rules, and that the decision to allow them to take part was unlawful.
Barristers for the force opposed the challenge, claiming the decision, made by Chief Constable Vanessa Jardine, was within her 'discretion'.
In a ruling on Wednesday (17 July), Mr Justice Linden said the decision relating to last year's event was unlawful, but that it was up to the force to decide how it approaches the 2025 event, which is due to take place this weekend.
In his judgment, he said that Ms Smith is opposed to 'gender ideology', which she believes is 'wrong and dangerous' but has been 'embraced' by the organisers of the event, Northern Pride.
While Ms Smith agreed that the event should be policed, she objected to officers 'associating themselves with the views of supporters of gender ideology and transgender activists by actively participating', the judge said.
In a letter to the force before the legal action, Ms Smith said the involvement of officers in the event led her to conclude it was 'biased against gender critical people'.
In response, the force said it considered that the decision to allow officers to participate in the event was a 'lawful exercise' of the 'discretion' of Ms Jardine, who considered that police participation in Pride was 'necessary and justified'.
Ms Jardine also said in her evidence to the court that she believed preventing officers from attending would be contrary to her duties under the Equality Act.
In his ruling, Mr Justice Linden said the participation of officers went against impartiality rules.
He found that those who opposed Northern Pride's view on transgender rights were 'not welcome' at its events, and that uniformed officers' involvement meant they 'demonstrated support for the cause'.
He said: 'It is not hard to imagine circumstances in which the officers in question might be called on to deal with a clash between gender critical people and supporters of gender ideology, and therefore situations where the former had cause for concern as to whether they were being dealt with impartially.'
He added: 'Leaving aside the question whether the activities in question would be likely to interfere with the relevant officers' impartial discharge of their duties, on any view they would be likely to give rise to the impression amongst members of the public that they may do so.'
He concluded that the police displays added to the 'impression' that the force was 'associating itself with a particular viewpoint and, as far as gender critical people were concerned, taking sides'.
In a statement, a Northumbria Police spokesperson said: 'The officers, staff and volunteers of Northumbria Police are dedicated and passionate about providing each and every person of our wonderful region with an outstanding policing service.
'In doing so, we recognise not all communities share the same level of confidence in policing for a variety of reasons. We want to ensure everyone knows that we are absolutely here for them when they need us.
'Part of that is us being visible in those communities and playing an active part in our force area. Throughout the year, we will have an important role to play in a variety of events, including parades and festivals.
'During these events, while our primary aim is to keep people safe, it also provides us with an opportunity to engage with people, including those who may have less confidence in policing.
'It is vitally important they feel supported and we continue to build their trust in us.
'That is why we felt it important to challenge the case which was brought against us and which has implications for wider policing.
'We will work through the ruling to understand the implications, while staying true to our values of fairness, visibility, and support for all.
'Our commitment to providing an outstanding service to all our communities will remain unchanged.'