Following the conviction and imprisonment of its founder Stephen Ireland, the scandal-afflicted LGBT+ ‘Pride in Surrey’ event could probably use a year off to reflect and recuperate. Instead, organisers are moving full steam ahead with September’s festivities. Part of the promotion includes a slimmed-down ‘Image Pack’ for use by the media. One of the 12 images selected is of Stephen Ireland.
Ireland was jailed for 30 years for serious sex crimes, including the rape of a 12-year-old boy. His partner, accomplice, and Pride in Surrey co-leader, also received a substantial custodial sentence. What then followed was a rush by Surrey police, education authorities, fostering services and BBC local radio to memory-hole their past close associations with Ireland, abruptly scrubbing him from official social media accounts.
Whistleblowers from in and around Surrey’s LGBT-friendly public sector have since gone on record with their concerns about Ireland’s conduct, influence, and evasion of basic ‘safeguarding’ measures installed to protect children in the county. Whether his image is still being used in promotional materials by accident or design, it at the very least highlights the widespread complacency throughout the organisation Ireland founded. Or as one of its critics posted on X:
They were actually showing off in July that they’ve made no changes to the organisation since the two paedophiles were arrested last year.
