Christian group threatens to sue ‘Wokeminster’ over annual Progress Pride flag display

A Christian group has threatened to sue a UK Council after branding a much-beloved Pride flag display as “woke.”

As part of its annual Pride Month festivities, Westminster City Council displays over 300 Progress Pride flags in rows above Regent Street, London.

The decorative celebration of the LGBTQ+ community, which stretches across the popular Piccadilly shopping district, will return from 22 June until 17 July, according to a Council planning order.

But the annual display has been branded “woke” by right-wing lobby group Christian Concern, who accused the Council of “indoctrinating Londoners” and “breaching planning control” in commissioning the planning order.

In a statement, the group threatened to take legal action against the Council if officials choose to “proceed with the display.”

It argued that the flags represent a “secular religious ideology which seeks to group together categories of people based upon their sexual preferences and identity.”

“In doing this it creates division between those people who do not recognise themselves under the umbrella of its myriad causes and those that do,” a Christian Concern spokesperson added.

The Progress Pride flag, designed by artist Daniel Quasar, is an update on the rainbow Pride flag of the early 1970s and 1980s which incorporates a chevron meant to represent Black, brown, and transgender communities.

Westminster City Council’s display uses the Intersex Progress Pride flag; an updated version of the flag created in 2021 to represent intersex people.

Christian Concern considering ‘legal action’ over Pride display

Christian Concern claimed the flag represents “trans ideologies” and criticised the Council for “exposing the hundreds of thousands of children who walk up and down Regent Street” to the flag.

Andrea Williams, chief executive of Christian Concern, argued that, to many, the flag represents “an attack on historic, traditional beliefs about sex and gender.”

“They send the message that people holding these views – which are worthy of respect in a democratic society – are not welcome.”

The Christian group further accused Westminster City Council of breaching its planning orders in previous years by displaying the flags “beyond the time allotted.”

Williams urged officials to “stop allowing these displays so that everyone can feel welcome in Regent Street,” adding that they would “consider taking legal action” should the flags be displayed.

She added: “This ideology been discredited by the Cass Review, the closure of the Tavistock, and most recently the Supreme Court ruling. When will the Crown Estate catch up with the rest of society?”

Last year, Christian Concern launched a petition to call for the Progress Pride display to be removed from Regent Street. Also, in 2022, the group lobbied the Church of England in an attempt to get it to withdraw guidance designed to protect children from bullying. 

The support in question addresses how C of E primary and secondary schools can support LGBTQ+ kids, and protect them from discrimination and bullying. 

To mark Pride Month, Lord Mayor of Westminster, Councillor Paul Dimoldenberg, celebrated by hanging a Progress Pride flag outside City Hall.

“Westminster will always be a welcoming city which is why it is such a special place to live, work and visit,” he said. “I was proud to raise the Pride flag outside City Hall marking the start of Pride Month and highlight the contribution of our LGBTQIA+ communities in the city.

In a statement to PinkNews, a spokesperson for Westminster City Council said it supports “festivals and celebrations from our different communities across the year” and considers Pride an “established fixture.”

“Pride flags are in keeping with a cosmopolitan City that welcomes millions of visitors every year. All public community celebrations have a fixed duration and are both proportionate and fitting,” they continued. “Given similar pronouncements in previous years we await further information about the Christian Legal Centre’s legal challenge with interest.”