TXSL #18: Destruction Goes Before Pride in London

I often joke that a film I’ve just watched is merely another instance of ‘HR problems in a large bureaucracy’, and certainly many of my previous articles have the general theme of mismanagement and misrule in organisations and governments. I’m afraid this is going to be another of these columns…

This week my focus is on allegations of misconduct at Pride in London – formally, the London LGBT Community Pride CIC (LLCP). Pride in London is the largest Pride event in the UK and one of the largest public events in London, with the 2024 Pride in London event attracting around 1.5 million people and costing £1.7 million to run. Over the last couple of years, BBC News has been reporting on its investigation into allegations of bullying and misconduct by Christopher Joell-Deshields – the former CEO of Pride in London – and other senior staff.

UK Pride organisations are under pressure

Before we get into the details, I want to set out the context in which UK Pride organisers operate – against a backdrop of rising anti-woke sentiment, funding issues, and a reduction in volunteer numbers. The UK Pride Organisers’ Network (UKPON) surveyed its members in April 2025; 112 organisations responded, of which 75% reported “lost revenue from corporate sponsorships and partnerships”, and about half reported “reductions in grants from corporations or charities”. Funding issues directly led to the cancellation of Pride events in Liverpool and Salford in 2025, while in October 2025, the charity that ran Manchester Pride went bust, leaving suppliers, venues and performers out of pocket; this year’s event is being run by a new Community Interest Company called Manchester Village Pride CIC. As a regular attendee at Manchester Pride, the Pride in London parade and Brighton Pride, it certainly appears to be an unprecedented level of disruption.

Pride in London and other Prides also regularly face criticism for being too corporate and commercial, instead of putting the community at the heart of events. While Pride in London isn’t in imminent danger of collapsing over funding, as far as I can tell – it’s partially funded by a grant from the Greater London Authority of £625,000 to deliver the Pride Parade from 2023 to 2027 – recent allegations of misconduct by Joell-Deshields and other senior leaders could reduce support from sponsors and other sources.

Pride in London’s outstanding issues

Aside from Joell-Deshields’ personal conduct, for which he has rightly been sacked, there are five areas where I feel Pride in London is not meeting the reasonable expectations of stakeholders:

• Allegations of bullying: according to the BBC News investigation, under Joell-Deshields’ tenure, some volunteers described a “toxic” work environment and “bullying culture”.
• Inappropriate personal spending: former events director Simon Jones spent more than £2,600 on a holiday using a Pride in London credit card.
• The dismissal of Simon Taverner for raising concerns: employees should be able to raise concerns about serious issues without facing immediate dismissal, as former volunteer manager Simon Taverner did when he asked the HR director if the board of Pride in London was best placed to investigate one of its own members.
• An opaque hiring process for paid roles: Joell-Deshields’ paid role as CEO was decided without being advertised. It’s unclear why the CEO and two directors needed to be paid roles after decades of purely unpaid voluntary operation; while the current arrangement seems to me to be consistent with norms for executive pay in the charity sector, it doesn’t seem to have widespread buy-in from volunteers, whose concerns should be taken seriously.
• Transparency around finances: Pride in London promised to release an internal report into allegations of financial malpractice in 2025. Peter Tatchell, one of the co-organisers of the first UK Pride in 1972 and a leading LGBTQ+ activist, has also requested greater detail about specific expenditures in the most recent Pride in London accounts, for 2024, in order to review whether the expenditures are justified.

What needs to happen next

To address these issues, I would expect to see:

• An internal investigation into all allegations of bullying, with appropriate sanctions for anyone found responsible.
• An official statement confirming that the inappropriate spending by Simon Jones was recouped by Pride in London.
• A formal apology to Simon Taverner for his unreasonable dismissal.
• A commitment to transparency in the hiring process for paid roles, and a wider consultation with volunteers and stakeholders on the current changes to the governance structure, including the necessity of and level of remuneration for paid roles.
• The prompt publication of the internal report on corruption that was due in 2025, and for any recommendations by the Peter Tatchell Foundation to be considered.

Rebecca Paisis, the interim CEO of Pride in London, was announced as the winner of this year’s DIVA Award for Inspirational Role Model, by DIVA magazine, a “leading publication for LGBTQIA+ women and non-binary people”. There’s no reporting suggesting Paisis was directly responsible for any of the serious issues at Pride in London, but as she was one of the senior leaders taking up a paid director role under Joell-Deshields’ tenure, and presumably aware of issues raised by volunteers during that period, I share the concerns expressed by former deputy director of operations Rob Millwood around “crossover” between the old and new leadership; I would have somewhat more confidence in the management of Pride in London if Rebecca Paisis were to step down as CEO following any changes to the governance structure of Pride in London, so that a new leader can take the organisation forwards. Ideally, this person would be able to start addressing historical concerns around institutional racism within Pride in London, which led to the mass resignation of the Community Advisory Board back in 2021.

There’s something special about attending or marching in a Pride parade for the first time, especially for younger people in the LGBTQ+ community who may have had limited experience or role models until participating in a Pride event. For that to be overshadowed by the bad behaviour of senior leaders at Pride in London would be a real tragedy – not the Bee Gees disco classic one might dance to with abandon at a Pride after-party.

Further reading

On the socio-political environment

1. Hugo Greenhalgh, July 2025. As rainbow capitalism falters, Pride organisers are returning to their roots. https://observer.co.uk/news/business/article/as-rainbow-capitalism-falters-pride-organisers-are-going-back-to-their-local-roots. Discusses the reduction in support for diversity, equity and inclusion by companies, looking particularly at New York Pride, and scepticism about the motivations of corporate sponsors.
2. Josh Parry, July 2025. Pride in London returns as events struggle with falling funds. https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/c0q877y7g9eo. Discusses the economic issues facing UK Pride organisers, some of the Pride events cancelled in 2025, and the costs involved in putting on the Pride in London event.
3. Matty Edwards, October 2025. Manchester Pride goes bust leaving performers out of pocket. https://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2025/oct/22/manchester-price-goes-bust-leaving-performers-out-of-pocket. Reporting on Manchester Pride going bust due to “rising costs, declining ticket sales and an unsuccessful bid to host Euro Pride”.
4. Jude Jones and Raz Ion, September 2025. When Pride Becomes a Business. https://gay45.eu/london-pride/. Critique of Pride movements that embrace corporate support and funding, portraying the Joell-Deshields scandal at Pride in London as an example of a wider corruption crisis in the queer liberation movement.

On Pride in London

1. Josh Parry, April 2026. Staff at UK’s largest Pride event allege bullying and misconduct under sacked CEO. https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/cn9qwyelgjwo. In-depth report of a BBC News investigation into allegations of bullying and misconduct at Pride in London under Christopher Joell-Deshields’ leadership.
2. BBC News, April 2026. Former London Pride boss admits contempt of court. https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/cj407q5gw7go. Reporting of Joell-Deshields admitting contempt of court over failing to hand back social media and bank account details to Pride in London.
3. Nadine White, March 2021. Pride in London: Peter Tatchell calls for investigation into company following racism allegations. https://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/home-news/pride-racism-lgbt-investigation-b1819608.html. Reports allegations of institutional racism by volunteers at Pride in London and the resignation of Rhammel Afflick and the entire Community Advisory Board.
4. Peter Tatchell Foundation, April 2026. Pride London urged to explain £631,950 expenditure. https://petertatchellfoundation.org/pride-london-urged-to-explain-631950-expenditure/. Open letter in which the Peter Tatchell Foundation outlines its concerns about high Pride in London expenditure in 2024 (including £278k in salaries and £154k in directors’ remuneration) and calls for the release of an internal report into allegations of corruption and mismanagement.
5. DIVA magazine, April 2026. A big round of applause to Rebecca Paisis, Pride in London for winning the Inspirational Role Model Award at DIVAAwards26! https://www.linkedin.com/posts/divamagazine_divaawards26-activity-7453555120023220224-tFht. DIVA magazine LinkedIn post on Rebecca Paisis’ DIVA award.