PSNI LGBT+ Network row: Police Federation chair says staff groups 'need to play by same rules everyone else does'

Earlier this week the Northern Ireland Equality Commission said police officers could bring a “discrimination complaint” to an employment tribunal if the PSNI had offered support to staff in a “selective manner”.

It came after leaked email showed the force’s LGBT+ staff association had offered help with revision classes, notes and interview preparation – but only to officers who “identify as LGBT+”.

The PSNI said the email is “not representative of the corporate position” of the force and said it wouldn’t be going ahead.

Liam Kelly from the Police Federation said the email was “badly phrased”.

“I think the network themselves realised that they potentially have overstepped the mark in relation to what their intention was, by their own phraseology”, he said.

“Everybody that’s in service that’s wanting to go for promotion should be on an equal footing for that, and nobody should be excluded from getting that support and assistance”, Mr Kelly said.

The News Letter asked the Police Federation boss if there was a problem with the PSNI’s diversity unit funding the LGBT+ network – and if such groups should be entirely independent of the police.

“The support networks form an important assistance really to the stuff that we do. Sometimes they can be more specialised – particularly in, for example, the autism network.

“I see them as an important part – but equally they need to play by the rules that everyone else has to play [by]. Absolutely they can do things to support the people in their particular networks in what they want to achieve – but ultimately it shouldn’t be to the exclusion of everyone else”, he said.

Asked about whether groups such as this which promote political issues – particularly around transgender issues – he said he can see why “detractors” would focus on “some of the more controversial elements” of what the groups do – and said there was contention within the groups as well. However he said the groups “bring something to policing” in raising issues.