London Pride March

Today I will be attending the London Pride March.

There will be lots to celebrate and photograph. I will publish photographs from today next week. Before then lets not forget that we still have to fight homophobia in the UK and abroad. Below I’m pleased to publish for the first time photographs I took of a historic and defining demonstration for gay equality organised by the direct action group ‘Outrage’. Hundreds turned out for the demonstration including Derek Jarman, Jimmy Somerville and Peter Tatchell.

Here is Peter’s account of what happened with reference to Derek Jarman’s involvement (Thanks to Joseph Burnett): ” With the formation of the queer rights direct action group OutRage! in 1990, Derek found an organisation that he could very strongly identify with. He used to come to our weekly meetings, which in those days were held in the old London Lesbian and Gay Centre in Cowcross Street. He’d never turn up with an entourage. He’d quietly slip into the meetings and make contributions. He was a regular irregular attendee [laughs], but he participated in some of our best-known protests, such as the march on parliament in February 1992, the demand of which was the repeal of all anti-gay laws. Together with myself, Jimmy Somerville and others, Derek was arrested after the police blocked our passage to the House of Commons. We sat down on the road and demanded our democratic right to go to parliament to make our voice heard. The police responded by piling us into buses and taking us to various police stations, where we spent the next few hours in the cells. Over thirty of us were arrested. Derek very defiantly refused to accept a caution and was eventually released, some hours later, without charge.”