London Daily

Focus on the big picture.
Saturday, Jul 05, 2025

Spate of attacks across UK sparks fear among LGBTQ+ community

Spate of attacks across UK sparks fear among LGBTQ+ community

Hate crimes related to sexual orientation and gender identity have increased year on year since 2015
Two weeks ago, Ranjith “Roy” Kankanamalage, 50, was discovered with a fatal head injury in Tower Hamlets Cemetery Park, east London. The brutal attack was, police believe, motivated by homophobia and a man has been arrested on suspicion of murder.

A day earlier, a couple called Rob and Patrick were attacked with broken bottles in Birmingham’s gay village, leaving one unconscious and the other with extensive cuts. Three men have been arrested on suspicion of robbery and wounding.

On 30 July, in Edinburgh, a married gay couple were punched, kicked and spat at as they walked down a busy city centre street. Three men have been charged in connection with alleged assaults and homophobic crimes.

And in Liverpool, during Pride month, hundreds of people joined a protest on 22 June after at least three street attacks on young men within the space of a few weeks.

Local activists and national campaigners have told the Guardian that this spate of attacks across the UK, while unconnected, underscores a climate of fear endured by the LGBTQ+ community on the streets.

Since 2015, hate crimes related to sexual orientation and gender identity have increased year on year, according to government data for England, Wales and Scotland. In the year to March 2020 in England and Wales, sexual orientation hate crimes rose by 19% to 15,835, and transgender identity hate crimes by 16% to 2,540 – averaging more than 50 reports each day.

Sasha Misra, the associate director of campaigns at the LGBTQ+ rights charity Stonewall, said: “The recent incidents in Edinburgh, Birmingham, Liverpool and London are a stark reminder that in 2021, lesbian, gay, bi, trans and queer people do not feel safe to be ourselves.” Misra also pointed to Stonewall data from 2017 indicating that four in five such incidents go unreported, with LGBTQ+ victims often reluctant to go to the police.

This is backed by the National Police Chiefs’ Council lead for hate crime, deputy chief constable Mark Hamilton. “Traditionally, homophobic and transphobic hate crimes have been significantly underreported,” he said, though he argued that the work of LGBTQ+ liaison officers with specific responsibility for building community links was among initiatives that were paying off.

“We believe some of the increase may be down to better reporting.”

But local activists describe what they perceive as an escalation in public hostility. Lawrence Barton, the director of Birmingham Pride, who runs a number of venues in the gay district, said: “There has been an increase in this type of activity, locally and nationally. We had a homophobic attack on a drag queen only a few weeks ago.

“I’m out regularly in the gay district on a weekend, and it staggers me how many people come out with homophobic remarks, shout from their car windows and make comments as they’re walking past,” he added.

Barton said he was “disappointed with the reduced amounts of police presence” in the area, although West Midlands police said they have recently increased high-visibility patrols and wanted to reassure anyone who is targeted that their report would be treated with sensitivity.

While preventing attacks was important, Barton said tackling the wider problem of homophobic views is his biggest concern. “Some people delude themselves into thinking that we live in a society that’s very progressive, and that we enjoy all these equalities and freedoms. But actually, when you cut underneath the surface, it’s clear there’s still a massive journey to true equality.”

LGBTQ+ hate crimes do not often make headlines, said Divina de Campo, a drag queen from Manchester, who said she was aware of a number of recent assaults in the city, including one of a transgender woman.

De Campo, who spearheaded fundraising efforts after LGBTQ+ murals in the city’s gay village were defaced at the end of June, said: “I’m very aware that the atmosphere and environment on the street is much more hostile. A lot of this is linked to how the press talk about transgender people and the government’s stance on conversion therapy, rolling back reform of the Gender Recognition Act and funding for schools education. It sends out a clear message to people who are bigoted and want to do LGBTQ+ people harm that it’s OK.”

Public acceptance may have improved dramatically over the past half century but there is still a long way to go, said Linda Riley, the publisher of Diva magazine and founder of Lesbian Visibility Week, who first drew attention to the Birmingham attack on social media after she was alerted by a friend.

“When I was 17, walking down the street it was the norm to be verbally abused; now I’m nearly 60 and it’s a hate crime,” she said. “But if you surveyed the whole community about how safe they feel walking down the street holding hands, men or women, they’d say it’s still always a worry.”
Newsletter

Related Articles

0:00
0:00
Close
London Stock Exchange Faces Historic Low in Initial Public Offerings
A new online platform has emerged in the United Kingdom, specifically targeting Muslim men seeking virgin brides
Trump Celebrates Independence Day with B-2 Flyover and Signs Controversial Legislation
Boris Johnson Urges Conservatives to Ignore Farage
SNP Ordered to Update Single-Sex Space Guidance Within Days
Starmer Set to Reject Calls for Wealth Taxes
Stolen Century-Old Rolls-Royce Recovered After Hotel Theft
Macron Presses Starmer to Recognise Palestinian State
Labour Delayed Palestine Action Ban Over Riot Concerns
Swinney’s Tax Comments ‘Offensive to Scots’, Say Tories
High Street Retailers to Enforce Bans on Serial Shoplifters
Music Banned by Henry VIII to Be Performed After 500 Years
Steve Coogan Says Working Class Is Being ‘Ethnically Cleansed’
Home Office Admits Uncertainty Over Visa Overstayer Numbers
JD Vance Questions Mandelson Over Reform Party’s Rising Popularity
Macron to Receive Windsor Carriage Ride in Royal Gesture
Labour Accused of ‘Hammering’ Scots During First Year in Power
BBC Head of Music Stood Down Amid Bob Vylan Controversy
Corbyn Eyes Hard-Left Challenge to Starmer’s Leadership
London Tube Trains Suspended After Major Fire Erupts Nearby
Richard Kemp: I Felt Safer in Israel Under Attack Than in the UK
Cyclist Says Police Cited Human Rights Act for Riding No-Handed
China’s Central Bank Consults European Peers on Low-Rate Strategies
AI Raises Alarms Over Long-Term Job Security
Saudi Arabia Maintains Ties with Iran Despite Israel Conflict
Musk Battles to Protect Tesla Amid Trump Policy Threats
Air France-KLM Acquires Majority Stake in Scandinavian Airlines
UK Educators Sound Alarm on Declining Child Literacy
Shein Fined €40 Million in France Over Misleading Discounts
Brazil’s Lula Visits Kirchner During Argentina House Arrest
Trump Scores Legislative Win as House Passes Tax Reform Bill
Keir Starmer Faces Criticism After Rocky First Year in Power
DJI Launches Heavy-Duty Coaxial Quadcopter with 80 kg Lift Capacity
U.S. Senate Approves Major Legislation Dubbed the 'Big Beautiful Bill'
Largest Healthcare Fraud Takedown in U.S. History Announced by DOJ
Poland Implements Border Checks Amid Growing Migration Tensions
Political Dispute Escalates Between Trump and Musk
Emirates Airline Expands Market Share with New $20 Million Campaign
Amazon Reaches Milestone with Deployment of One Millionth Robot
US Senate Votes to Remove AI Regulation Moratorium from Domestic Policy Bill
Yulia Putintseva Calls for Spectator Ejection at Wimbledon Over Safety Concerns
Jury Deliberations in Diddy Trial Yield Partial Verdict in Serious Criminal Charges
House Oversight Committee Subpoenas Former Jill Biden Aide Amid Investigation into Alleged Concealment of President Biden's Cognitive Health
King Charles Plans Significant Role for Prince Harry in Coronation
Two Chinese Nationals Arrested for Espionage Activities Against U.S. Navy
Amazon Reaches Major Automation Milestone with Over One Million Robots
Extreme Heat Wave Sweeps Across Europe, Hitting Record Temperatures
Meta Announces Formation of Ambitious AI Unit, Meta Superintelligence Labs
Robots Compete in Football Tournament in China Amid Injuries
Trump Administration Considers Withdrawal of Funding for Hospitals Providing Gender Treatment to Minors
×