Police forces have been told that they face legal action if they do not leave Stonewall’s controversial ‘Diversity Champions’ scheme.
Pressure group FairCop, led by former police officer Harry Miller, wrote to chief constables warning that action would take place against any force that had not left after “a period of consideration” had concluded.
Currently, around half of police forces in England and Wales pay upwards of £2,500 plus VAT to the lobby group for advice, which legal experts have said “misrepresents” equality law.
‘Violation’
FairCop’s letter states that it is “now beyond reasonable doubt that any association, formal or otherwise, with Stonewall is a violation” of the police Code of Ethics.
It adds that “reasonable members of the public” perceive “a conflict of interest with police work and responsibilities, such that it creates the impression that the police are not able to discharge their duties impartially”.
Earlier this month, The Daily Telegraph reported that feedback reviews from the Metropolitan Police said it should use Stonewall to review all its HR policies, after the Met failed to list in the top 100 employers in the scheme last year.
‘Flood’
The legal threat comes as a number of high-profile public bodies leave the embattled charity’s programme.
The Equality and Human Rights Commission, House of Commons, Driver & Vehicle Licensing Agency and the employment dispute service ACAS are among those which have recently ended their membership.
Concerns about the scheme particularly centre around Stonewall’s aggressive promotion of trans ideology.
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