Christians say London mayor Sadiq Khan faces ‘eternal punishment’ for Pride flag displays
Pride flags seen decorating Regent Street for Pride Month. (Vuk Valcic/SOPA Images/LightRocket via Getty Images)
Pride flags seen decorating Regent Street for Pride Month. (Vuk Valcic/SOPA Images/LightRocket via Getty Images)
Christians have taken to social media to claim London mayor Sadiq Khan faces “eternal punishment” for the city’s LGBTQ+ Pride flag displays.
Every year hundreds of Pride flags are flown across the iconic shopping thoroughfare Regent Street to mark Pride Month and Pride in London.
This year, Pride Progress flags were approved by Westminster Council to fly over the street from 22 June to 17 July 2025, replacing the Union Jack flag which was displayed to commemorate the 80th anniversary of VE Day (Victory in Europe Day) on 8 May.
The Progress Pride flag, designed by artist Daniel Quasar, is an update on the traditional rainbow rainbow Pride flag designed in the 1970s by Gilbert Baker and incorporates a chevron meant to represent Black, brown, and transgender communities.The Westminster City Council display uses the Intersex Progress Pride flag; an updated version of the flag created in 2021 to represent intersex people alongside other members of the LGBTQ+ community.
On X, formerly known as Twitter, Sadiq Khan shared a post ahead of London Pride, celebrating the diversity in the city and showcasing a picture of the flags hanging in the street.
“Tomorrow at Pride in London we’ll send a message to the world: in our city you are free to be whoever you want to be, and love whoever you want to love,” Khan’s post read.
“We must take a stand against those seeking to roll back hard-won rights.”
Tomorrow at Pride in London we’ll send a message to the world: in our city you are free to be whoever you want to be, and love whoever you want to love.
— Mayor of London, Sadiq Khan (@MayorofLondon) July 4, 2025
We must take a stand against those seeking to roll back hard-won rights. pic.twitter.com/zGPiOMQs3X
Extreme Christians were, of course, entirely normal about the whole thing and made grotesque comparisons between the Pride flag display and flags displayed by the Nazis in Germany.
“LONDON HAS BEEN CONQUERED RIP,” far-right account Libs of TikTok, run by founder Chaya Raichik, wrote in entire seriousness.
Catholic author and former White House speechwriter, Joshua Charles, wrote: “They will be ‘rolled back’ whether you like it or not, Mr. @MayorofLondon.
“The options are: 1. Repentance now; or 2. Eternal punishment later.”
Propaganda is a powerful tool, especially when dissent is harshly punished. https://t.co/8lYbGvNQMS pic.twitter.com/HvT5Jqz8il
— Inconvenient Truths (@truthiness4ever) July 4, 2025
“Tomorrow in London, they will send a message to the world: in their city, gay sex is the highest good to be celebrated and the pinnacle of their identity,” Erik Reed, founder and lead pastor of The Journey Church in Lebanon, Tennessee, said. Adding: “Congratulations, London. Truly stunning and brave.”
The backlash comes just weeks after Christian group threatened to sue Westminster Council over the Pride flag display.
The right-wing lobby group Christian Concern accused the Council of “indoctrinating Londoners” and “breaching planning control” in approving the flags, whilst also labelling them “woke”.
Christian Concern argued the flags represent a “secular religious ideology which seeks to group together categories of people based upon their sexual preferences and identity” and this “creates division between those people who do not recognise themselves under the umbrella of its myriad causes and those that do”.
Andrea Williams, chief executive of the Christian Legal Centre, said in a press release: “Many people experience these flags as 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 majority of the public do not know the highly controversial and harmful symbolism presented by the Progress Pride Flag. At the heart of the flag is the trans flag – pink for girls, blue for boys and white for the ‘transition’ phase. 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?
“We will continue to urge Westminster City Council to stop allowing these displays in 2025 and in the future so that everyone can feel welcome in Regent Street and the surrounding areas. If the council chooses to proceed with the display we will consider taking legal action.”
Not just content with attacking flags, this month the same group have also said they will take legal action against Camden Council over four trans flag-coloured crossings.
The north London authority unveiled the pink, white and blue four-way crossing at the junction of Tavistock Place and Marchmont Street in November 2021 to mark Transgender Awareness Week 2021 but also serve as a reminder of LGBTQ+ history in the area.
Nearly four years on, evangelical Christian Blessing Olubanjo, 57, is threatening legal action against the council – with support of Christian Concern – saying the crossings constitute unlawful political messaging and infringe on her rights as a Christian.
