Pride event disrupted by protesters over police participation

A Belfast Pride event has been disrupted by protesters over the participation of the Police Service of Northern Ireland (PSNI).

The panel discussion, involving senior PSNI figures and LGBT groups, was held on Saturday in the MAC arts venue in Belfast city centre.

Several demonstrators held placards and chanted slogans against the inclusion of the PSNI, which has faced criticism from some in the LGBT community over withdrawing from Pride parades.

On Sunday, Dep Ch Con Bobby Singleton said the PSNI continued "to play a vital role in protecting and balancing everyone's right to protest including at Pride".

He said claims the event was a PR stunt or "pink-washing" - a practice of pretending to support LGBTQ+ causes - were nonsense.

"Our participation in this and other pride events is as I said yesterday for three reasons - out of respect for and to engage with the community, as a service that is representative of that community to demonstrate the pride we feel in our amazing LGBTQIA colleagues."

Belfast Pride organisers acknowledged concerns but called for "respectful" dialogue.

The Pride Talks Back event involved Singleton alongside other PSNI officers and representatives of LGBT groups the Rainbow Project and Cara-Friend.

In 2023, the PSNI instructed officers not to participate in Pride parades in uniform, having previously taken part since 2017.

Speaking at the event in Belfast on Saturday afternoon, Singleton said the decision was the "hardest and most difficult thing that I have been involved with in 25 years in policing".

"Precisely because we understood acutely what the impact of this was going to be in terms of the community, but importantly as well, our own officers and staff for whom it had been absolutely huge," he said.

Singleton said the PSNI still participated in other aspects of Pride "because this is all about us providing the best possible service that we can".

"You don't get that through not talking to people, not engaging - not having those difficult conversations," he said.

On Sunday, Singleton added that the 2023 decision "was taken so as not to compromise our impartiality including on the day itself where we have a duty to balance everyone's rights in what can be challenging circumstances".

The senior officer also said the idea of the PSNI issuing a formal apology over historical treatment of the LGBT community was a "live" issue being discussed.

"You could say well, the police service was only enforcing the law of the land, but calling things your job doesn't make it right," he said, adding that "the apology issue is a live one".

On mixed reactions to the panel discussion being held, Singleton said: "We are always up for difficult conversations."

A small number of people walked out during the panel discussion, with one turning to the audience and describing the event as "pinkwashing" as they left.

Later, a number of demonstrators in the audience held up placards and shouted slogans including "PSNI out of Pride" and "RUC [Royal Ulster Constabulary] out of Pride".

The RUC was the PSNI's predecessor.

The protesters also raised matters including the PSNI's handling of race-related violence in Belfast and other parts of Northern Ireland in June.

Lynn Millar, co-chairperson of the Belfast Pride board, told the demonstrators "no, we are not pinkwashing" and asked them to leave as the disruption continued.

At the beginning of the panel discussion, she acknowledged there had been "some criticism" online but said "there are others in the community who want this event".

"Policing like every other organisation, including Pride, is imperfect, but the only way it can get better is by listening to constructive criticism from the communities we represent and acting on it," she added.

"We can all learn from one another and I hope that through honest and respectful debate today that's what will happen."

After the protesters left, Singleton said the demonstration "went too far" and questioned whether there had been consideration for the feelings of LGBT members of the PSNI.

On last month's street riots, he acknowledged frustrations but said many PSNI officers "put blood, sweat and tears" into tackling the violence.

The 10-day Belfast Pride festival began on Friday, with the main event of the annual parade taking place next Saturday.

In June the Northern Ireland Civil Service (NICS) withdrew from formally taking part in Pride parades.

Senior officials told staff the NICS was "not in a position to participate" this year due to the "current legal and case law context".

In 2025 Belfast Pride decided to exclude Stormont executive parties from their parade for supporting a ban on puberty blockers for under 18s.

Puberty blockers are drugs used to delay or prevent puberty happening and have sometimes been prescribed to children questioning their gender.

The move led to a clash of opinions behind the scenes among senior NICS staff over how to respond.