Andy Burnham under pressure over Greater Manchester Police’s rampant homophobia

The Peter Tatchell Foundation has urged mayor of Greater Manchester Andy Burnham to require the chief constable Stephen Watson to apologise for decades of past homophobic police witch-hunts. Watson has for two years refused to say sorry.

As mayor, Burnham has overall responsibility for policing and for holding the chief constable to account. If he cannot get the chief constable to apologise, the group is urging Burnham to make an apology himself, as mayor, to Manchester’s LGBTQ+ community.

Andy Burnham: an apology for years of LGBTQ+ witch-hunts

Tatchell’s letter urges Andy Burnham to acknowledge the long history of abuse Greater Manchester Police (GMP) officers have meted out. This includes unlawful raids on gay venues, intimidation, assault, forced outings, and abusive homophobic comments by senior officers. One such instance came from former chief constable James Anderton who, during the AIDS crisis in the 1980s, described dying gay men as:

swirling in a human cesspit of their own making.

Peter Tatchell said:

Twenty-one other UK police forces have already apologised for similar historic wrongs. GMP has refused. Chief Constable Stephen Watson has repeatedly declined to express regret, demanding that victims first produce “evidence” of abuse — despite extensive documentation of this abuse in public records.

Greater Manchester Police: a long history of homophobia

The Peter Tatchell Foundation is asking that mayor Andy Burnham use his powers and leadership role to require GMP’s Chief Constable to apologise for historic homophobic police abuses.

Alternatively, it calls for Burnham himself  to issue an apology on behalf of Greater Manchester. This should acknowledge that the behaviour of some officers was wrong and unacceptable, causing lasting harm and damaging police-LGBTQ+ relations.

The foundation has pointed out that apologies are more than symbolic. They are steps toward healing, rebuilding trust, and acknowledging the suffering of those harmed.

Director of the foundation Peter Tatchell said of Andy Burnham and GMP:

An apology is not just words – it is an act of justice. It would signal that Manchester today rejects the witch-hunts of the past, values the dignity of all its citizens, and understands that trust must be earned through honesty, remorse, courage and leadership.

The Peter Tatchell Foundation is urging Mayor Burnham to use his authority as Greater Manchester’s elected leader, and de facto Police and Crime Commissioner, to ensure a formal apology is made. If the Chief Constable continues to refuse, we request that Mr Burnham make an apology himself, on behalf of the city and its institutions. Such an initiative would be much welcomed.

Past anti-LGBT+ police persecution included the notorious 1984 raid on Napoleon’s club — where patrons were photographed, assaulted, harassed and outed — as well as repeated raids on venues such as The Rembrandt, The New Union and Clone Zone. Some victims lost their jobs and homes and faced rejection by their families after being publicly outed and shamed by the police. This was not law endorsement. It was a homophobic vendetta sanctioned by successive Chief Constables for many decades. LGBT+ lives were ruined.

An apology would help rebuild trust between GMP and the LGBT+ community, encouraging more LGBTs to report hate crimes, domestic violence and sexual assaults, which is what we all want,” said Mr Tatchell.

Feature image via YouTube/Manchester Evening News