When Londoners dressed in all the colours of the rainbow pack the downtown this summer for the annual pride parade, one colour will be noticeably absent.
Police blue.
Pride London announced on Friday that police officers marching in the 24th annual London Pride Parade will have to do so in street clothes. Police vehicles will also be excluded from the parade.
The move is being cited by Pride London officials as a way to make the march more inclusive and to remove additional barriers for people participating.
“After several conversations and a community input session earlier this year, our members expressed concerns about the large presence of police in uniform participating in the annual London Pride Parade,” said Andrew Rosser, president of Pride London Festival.
Chief John Pare, who has marched in the parade in previous years, took the decision in stride.
“The London Police Service respects the request for our members to continue to participate in the London Pride Parade but not in uniform,” said Pare. “Many of our members love being part of the parade and I will encourage them to be there to support LGBT2Q+ communities on July 29.”
The decision to exclude uniformed officers is in stark contrast to years past when Pride London viewed their participation as having a positive impact on the city's lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgendered people.
In 2015, former police chief Brad Duncan acted as grand marshall of the event. It came just four years after he became the first active police chief to march in the parade.
Police in Toronto will also not be marching in that city's pride parade, after Pride Toronto made a similar request earlier this month.
It is the second year in a row Toronto police have been barred from marching in uniform.