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On the evening of Saturday 13th October 2007 the GPA held their 17th Annual Dinner at the Old Ship Hotel in Brighton. Over 120 GPA members and their friends and invited guests were in attendance at the event.
Assistant Chief Constable Jeremy Paine of Sussex Police who attended the event on behalf of the Chief Constable of Sussex welcomed everyone to Brighton and stated that he was very proud of the fact that the GPA were holding their event in Brighton, which he said was a place that was very special to the LGB & T (Lesbian Gay Bisexual & Transgendered) community.
During the evening two awards were presented. These awards are named the Matthew Windibank Memorial Awards in recognition of one of the founding members of the GPA who unfortunately died in 1999. The awards recognise those individuals and organisations that have made an outstanding contribution to the progression of gay equality inside and outside the police service.
The first award for GPA Force Coordinator 2007 was presented to Constable Alistair Melling of Thames Valley Police, who is the GPA coordinator for that force. In presenting the award, Vic Codling the National Coordinator of the GPA congratulated Alistair for the excellent contribution that he had made in furthering the visibility and confidence of LGBT staff within Thames Valley Police, including the work he had undertaken to establish the recently launched Thames Valley Police Gay Police Association Branch. Vic also spoke about the good relationship that the GPA had with Sussex Police and he made reference to the positive decision of Brighton Police to raise the GPA Standard on the flagpole of Brighton Police Station during the Gay Pride Parade in Brighton last year and also the decision of the former chief constable of Sussex Joe Edwards, to march in last years Gay Pride Parade.
The second award was presented to the Rev Richard Kirker who is the Chief Executive of the Lesbian and Gay Christian Movement (LGCM). Introducing the award Kevin Boyle a member of the National Executive Committee (NEC) of the GPA said that the LGCM had been very supportive of the GPA over an advertisement challenging faith-based homophobia, that the association ran last year in the Independent newspaper.
He said that Richard Kirker had first come to his attention in June 2000 when he was involved in a police investigation into homophobic attacks against the Rev Follett, the Vicar of Knightsbridge. At the time the investigation attracted huge media interest. Kevin stated that whilst many in the church had condemned the victim because of his sexual orientation, Richard Kirker had gone on record to urge the Bishop of London not to tolerate the homophobic witch-hunt. Richard Kirker had also supported the police investigation and had supported the Rev Follett throughout the protracted enquiry.
He went on to praise Richard Kirker for the support that he and members of the LGCM had offered the GPA in response to the campaign organised by some Evangelical and Fundamentalist groups who had opposed the contents of the GPA advertisement. Rev Kirker at the time had described the advertisement as "courageous and wholly justifiable in exposing the scourge of religiously motivated homophobia". He had also made contact with the Home Office, the Metropolitan Police and the Advertising Standards Agency, defending the actions of the GPA. As a result of the response to the GPA advertisement, in February 2007 LGCM hosted the very first national conference on Faith, Homophobia and Human Rights which was supported by 50 other organisations.
Responding to the Award Richard Kirker, who was accompanied by his partner and his mother, said the award was a "remarkable honour" and "a tribute to LGCM’s work". He said his father had been a Metropolitan police officer and he thanked his mother for the support she had given him during all his time at LGCM.
Speaking on the Government’s recently announced proposal to introduce new legislation to make it a crime to incite hatred against LGB & T people, Rev Kirker stated, "Personally I’d be happy to see the whole leadership of the Church of England arraigned for inciting harassment as it has now acquired for itself the least enviable of all reputations. It is the country’s leading homophobic body". He sad that they and some of the other more significant faith traditions were trying to undermine the values of tolerance and respect to which he believed that all in our society should be committed" irrespective of their faith or beliefs.
He went on to say that it was in this context that the work that Deputy Chief Constable (DCC) Mike Cunningham of Lancashire Police was doing on behalf of ACPO (Association of Chief Police Officers) was so important. He said that, "Your recommendation that religious views should be expressed 'in an appropriate fashion' and 'does not confer a right to express those beliefs' in a manner that amounts to discrimination against others" will, I hope help bring to an end the acceptability of religiously expressed homophobia across the whole police service.
DCC Mike Cunningham who was also present at the dinner spoke about his role as the holder of the ACPO portfolio for LGB &T issues, which he has held since August 2006. He said that initially they had started up the LGB & T Strategic Group, agreeing working practices around how the group would operate. They recognised that it would be integral to the success of the group to be in close liaison with the LGB & T Practitioners Group, and he said he was pleased to say that this link was now been well established.
He said that as a result of the work undertaken with the LGB & T Strategic Group they had now established the following six work streams:
- Faith and its expression and articulation in the workplace
- Sexual transmission of infections that cause GBH
- Homophobia in the media
- Sexual orientation monitoring
- Inconsistencies in hate crime/incidents being reported
- Policing of public sex environment
He said that the progressive and innovative work that was conducted within these work streams would not be possible, but for the contribution of individuals, including representatives from the GPA, who worked tirelessly to help him. He pointed out that the work of these individuals was done in addition to their own workloads and responsibilities.
He also said that the GPA had played a vital role in assisting him to develop his portfolio. He acknowledged the importance of their contribution towards the development of the work streams on a national basis/ACPO level. He also said that the GPA was a powerful contributor to the shaping of national policies around the LGB agenda, supporting individuals and challenging the service.
Touching on the work that he was doing in relation to Faith and its expression and articulation in the workplace, he said that he had a clear message for anyone within the police service who felt that their faith prohibited them from working with an LGB & T colleague or from treating them with dignity and respect, and that message was for them to consider looking for another job.
ENDS
Bernard McEldowney
Public Relations Officer
Gay Police Association
media@gpa.police.uk
Phone/Fax: 07092 700 212
http://www.gay.police.uk/contact.html
For more information please contact:
Press Officer
Martin Reynolds
Tel: + 44 (0)1633 215841
Email: martin.reynolds1@virgin.net
Photos
Richard Kirker
Chief Executive
Lesbian and Gay Christian Movement [LGCM]
Oxford House, Derbyshire Street, London, E2 6HG
Office Tel & Fax 020 7739 1249
www.lgcm.org.uk
lgcm@lgcm.org.uk
