Pride London in full swing as parade begins

London pride kicked off today with LGBT disability campaigner Kath Gillespie Sells leading the parade in a white convertible Corvette.

Also at the head of the parade were rugby player Ben Cohen and Peter Tatchell, who carried a placard denouncing BNP leader Nick Griffin.

Tatchell told PinkNews.co.uk: “Every year I do a satirical placard and it’s about time Nick Griffin was ridiculed. He’s a figure of fun with absurd political pretensions.”

Deputy Mayor of London Richard Barnes and Labour mayoral candidate Ken Livingstone also marched at the front, but were keeping some distance from each other after the former called the latter an ‘old retread’ in a PinkNews.co.uk interview last week.

Home Secretary Theresa May attended a reception before the march began but did not join the parade.

Labour MP Chris Bryant, Tory MP James Brokenshire, TUC General Secretary Brendan Barber, Richard Barnes and Kath Gillespie Sells are all due to speak on the main stage in Trafalgar Square this afternoon.

As the parade passed a small group of Christian protesters, some marchers swapped their chant of ‘gay pride’ for ‘**** you’.

Other sights on the parade included the Liberal Democrat bus, which bore a sign reading: ‘Delivering gay marriage! (Then we can divorce the Tories)’.