The Birkenhead-born star called for an apology before his death

Paul O’Grady’s hilarious quip during Royal Vauxhaull Tavern arrest

A campaign, backed by Paul O’Grady, to get British police forces to apologise for past “witch-hunts” has reached a new milestone. Apologise Now!, organised by LGBTQ+ activist Peter Tatchell and his charity, is calling on police forces up and down the country to consider their past actions and offer an apology to the community.

Today, Tuesday, November 19, the Chief Constable of South Yorkshire, Rachel Bacon, came forward and offered an apology on behalf of her force’s past historic homophobic persecution. This is the 21st force to acknowledge the harm caused by the discriminatory enforcement of anti-LGBT+ laws.

She said: “While I cannot undo the past, I assure you of my genuine commitment to preventing such discrimination in the future. Through ongoing community engagement and collaboration, we will work to effect meaningful change.”

The latest apology follows Merseyside Police’s apology this summer. Chief Constable Serena Kennedy recognised that her force’s past actions had “ruined lives” and “had a lasting negative impact”. Peter Tatchell said: “We are not asking the police to apologise for enforcing the law but to apologise for the often illegal and abusive way they enforced it.

“Officers raided gay bars, clubs and even private birthday parties, insulting LGBTs as ‘p****’ and ‘q*****’. They gave the names and addresses of arrested gay men to local papers, which led to some being evicted, sacked and violently beaten. Police harassed LGBTs leaving gay venues and arrested same-sex couples for kissing, cuddling and holding hands right up until the 1990s.

“The police did not make the law, but they chose to enforce it in ways that today would be deemed illegal and unacceptable. They went out of their way to target gay and bisexual men to boost their arrest figures and ‘crime-fighting’ reputation.

Paul O’Grady as Lily Savage on An Evening with Lily Savage

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“Young, handsome male officers were sent into public toilets and parks, where they lured gay men into committing offences and then arrested them. These so-called ‘pretty police’ acted as agent provocateurs.

“The yearly average of homosexual offences recorded by the police in England and Wales was nearly three times greater after the partial decriminalisation of male homosexuality in 1967 than it was in the previous eight decades of total criminalisation – clear evidence of a police witch-hunt. If the police say they have changed, they need to show it by acknowledging past wrongs.”

The campaign launched with a video Paul O’Grady had recorded before his death. It was played in the House of Lords, where Paul’s Husband, Andre Portasio, was in attendance.

The late TV star recalled his experience of a police raid on the gay bar, the Royal Vauxhall Tavern, in London in 1987. He described the raid as “homophobic” and said those present “were being treated like animals”.

LGBTQ+ campaigner Peter Tatchell arriving at Paul O’Grady’s funeral(Image: Joe Maher/Getty Images)

He added: “I’d only been at the venue for about ten minutes, and a copper burst in the dressing room. I thought he was a stripper. He was so rude and so aggressive. And when I came out on the stage, they were all wearing rubber gloves. I said: ‘Oh good, have you come to do the washing up?’ There was pandemonium, and people were scared.

“I was called a lascivious act in the South London Press, and to tell you the truth, I was delighted about that. Past injustices often cross my mind, and this is one of them. The bloody cheek of them. It was disgusting. It was just offensive. We were being treated like animals. Pure homophobia, that’s what it was. And nothing else will make me change my mind. So apologise.

“Police have apologised all around the world for their behaviour all those years ago. I think it is about time the British police did the same thing and said we are so sorry for what happened because it was unnecessary. It was homophobic.”