Andy Burnham, the Mayor of Greater Manchester, has issued a formal apology for the "unacceptable discrimination" historically inflicted on LGBT+ people by Greater Manchester Police (GMP). The apology was made in a letter to veteran campaigner Peter Tatchell, with the Mayor expressing regret for the "pain and suffering" caused.
Writing in his capacity as Mayor and Police and Crime Commissioner, Burnham stated: “I apologise to all LGBTQ+ people in Greater Manchester and across the UK for the past failing of GMP.”
In response, Peter Tatchell, Director of the Peter Tatchell Foundation, welcomed the mayoral apology but expressed profound disappointment that GMP's Chief Constable, Stephen Watson, continues to refuse to apologise on behalf of the force itself. “A mayoral apology, welcome though it is, cannot substitute for an apology from the police force that carried out these abuses,” Tatchell said.
He urged the Chief Constable to follow the lead of Mayor Burnham and numerous other police chiefs across Britain, stating that an official GMP apology would be a vital act of "accountability, reconciliation and trust-building with LGBT+ communities."
A History of Harassment
The Foundation's campaign highlights a legacy of systematic homophobia within GMP. In the 1980s, under the then Chief Constable Sir James Anderton, the force pursued an aggressively anti-LGBT+ agenda. Anderton, who infamously described gay men dying of AIDS as "swirling around in a human cesspit of their own making," directed officers to target the community.
This policy led to notorious raids on gay venues. In 1984, 23 police officers raided Napoleon's bar, where they illegally seized members' details, forcibly photographed patrons, and used homophobic slurs and intimidation. Similar raids were conducted on the New Union bar, Rembrandt Hotel, and Clone Zone shop, with police openly boasting of trying to "close these queer places."
The persecution extended into private lives. The "Bolton 7," a group of gay men, were hounded by GMP in 1998 and subjected to a major trial for consensual activity in their own homes, treated by police as serious sexual offenders. They later received state compensation for their suffering.
Call for GMP to Follow Other Forces
Peter Tatchell contrasted GMP's ongoing refusal to apologise with the actions of other forces. The Metropolitan Police Commissioner and at least twenty other Chief Constables across the UK have issued full apologies for historic homophobic persecution.
“GMP has so far refused to do the same. We urge Stephen Watson to do so,” said Tatchell, confirming that his Foundation will continue to campaign for a full and formal apology directly from Greater Manchester Police.
