War veterans have criticised council bosses in Glasgow for spending thousands on ‘gay rights’ events while failing to recognise the 65th anniversary of D-Day.
Glasgow City Council has reportedly spent £240,000 of taxpayers’ money on a series of events including a gay pornography exhibition and cross-dressing classes.
A separate storm was prompted earlier this year when it was revealed that secondary school pupils had been invited to the pornography exhibition at the Gallery of Modern Art in Glasgow. Plans for the visits have since been scrapped.
The events are organised by the authority’s Culture and Sport Glasgow (CSG) charity to mark key days in the ‘gay rights’ calendar.
These will include looking into gay asylum seekers during Refugee Week (15 June), International Day Against Homophobia (17 May), the Transgender Day of Remembrance (20 November) and LGBT History Month (next February).
A CSG spokesman said: “These events reflect the fact that many LGBT people face violence and discrimination because of their sexuality or gender.”
However, Scottish war veterans were disappointed that no such events had been planned to commemorate the 65th anniversary of D-Day.
Dr Tom Renouf, who was just 19 years old when his Battalion landed in Normandy, said: “This is a very special commemoration as it is the last time many veterans will be able to mark the date.
“The council needs to reconsider this as it seems very wrong that it is making practically no effort for D-day while honouring obscure dates in the ‘gay rights’ calendar.”
Neil Griffiths, of the Royal British Legion in Scotland, said: “There is something very wrong with the judgement and priorities of a public body using council tax cash to fund gay pornography and celebrating gay rights while ignoring the memory of those who died for their country.”