Cash-strapped police paid scandal-hit LGBT charity which was once led by a paedophile thousands of pounds for training
Scotland’s police force has handed thousands of pounds of taxpayers’ money to a gay and transgender rights group for teenagers which was once led by a paedophile.
LGBT Youth Scotland (LGBTYS) was given more than £3,500 for training courses – and for 500 ‘purple button badges’ to show solidarity with the gay and trans community.
The badges mark Purple Friday, an ‘annual fundraising day where people all over Scotland show their support for LGBTQ+ young people and fundraise for our [LGBTYS’s] vital services’.
The Mail revealed in September Children in Need had axed funding for the charity amid a row over a ‘coming-out guide’ co-authored by a convicted paedophile – while the group’s former chief executive sexually assaulted a baby boy.
Last night Scottish Tory equalities spokesman Tess White said: ‘With the likes of Children in Need having pulled funding from LGBTYS because of the cloud hanging over the charity, many people will question these payouts.
‘Fostering inclusivity is vital but at a time when officers are being dangerously underfunded by the SNP Government, giving scarce resources to a charity mired in controversy is difficult to justify.’
Police Scotland figures show two payments to LGBTYS – £1,750 in 2022/2023 and the same sum in 2020/21, both relating to ‘registration, training & support for LGBT Charter’ – while another £73.75 was handed over in 2019/20 to pay for ‘500 purple button badges’.
The total funding is £3,573. The force’s ‘LGBT Allies Toolkit’ asks staff and officers to ‘evangelise their allyship’. It recommends online resources which state sex is on a spectrum and that misgendering a person can lead to ‘very real psychological trauma’.
Police Scotland has handed thousands of pounds of taxpayers’ money to a gay and transgender rights group for teenagers which was once led by a paedophile (file image)
LGBT Youth Scotland (LGBTYS) was given more than £3,500 for training courses – and for 500 ‘purple button badges’ to show solidarity with the gay and trans community. The badges mark Purple Friday, an ‘annual fundraising day where people all over Scotland
In 2009 LGBT Youth Scotland's former chief executive, James Rennie, was convicted of sexually assaulting a baby
James Rennie, the former chief executive of LGBTYS, is serving life in prison for sexually assaulting a three-month-old after being convicted in 2009 along with seven others on sex abuse charges.
He was an SNP Government adviser on child sex issues and had used computers at the LGBTYS offices in Leith to pursue his sordid double life.
Andrew Easton, who co-wrote a schools guide for the youth charity, was convicted last year of sharing indecent images of children.
He was never an employee or volunteer with LGBTYS but in 2009 he was a young person who attended its services. It was then that he helped to write the guide.
Gender-critical think-tank Murray Blackburn Mackenzie said: ‘The critical issue here is that Police Scotland is continuing its relationship with a controversial organisation that promotes policies that put women at risk.’
Dr Stuart Waiton, a senior lecturer in criminology at Abertay University in Dundee, said: ‘At a time when there are growing concerns about this politicisation of our institutions, the fact the police are funding this is scandalous.’
A Police Scotland spokesman said LGBTYS is a ‘key partner… and their work across the country builds confidence with many young people’.
LGBTYS said: ‘We are pleased to work with organisations who share our vision and support LGBTQ+ young people in Scotland.’
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