The Metropolitan Police have been accused of siding with demonstrators at a protest over a drag performance for children at a pub in south London.
A formal complaint has been lodged over the behaviour of officers at a demonstration organised by Turning Point UK against a storytelling session by drag queen That Girl at the Honor Oak pub in Lewisham.
The mayor of Lewisham, Damien Egan, is also reported to have raised concerns following accounts of the policing at the event.
Lewisham councillors are also said to be contacting Sophie Linden, London’s deputy mayor for policing, asking her to investigate allegations that counter-demonstrators were subject to police aggression.
An official complaint has been sent from the local branch of the National Education Union to the borough commander after police moved them from outside a primary school opposite the pub.
The drag queen That Girl has disputed claims by Turning Point that the storytelling session is not suitable for children.
That Girl said: 'We are fostering a love of stories and I'm just a clown in a pretty dress facilitating that.
‘It's entirely age appropriate and to suggest otherwise is misinformation.’
