UK politician criticises Stonewall for ‘bigot’ nomination – but wants to attend ceremony
Alan Craig, the leader of the Christian Peoples Alliance Party and a former councillor for the London Borough of Newham, has criticised Stonewall after the charity nominated him for the title of “Bigot of the Year”.
On its website, Stonewall wrote: “In October 2011 Alan Craig caused outrage by comparing gay equality advocates to the invading forces of Nazi Germany and dubbing them the ‘Gaystapo’.
“In an incendiary Church of England Newspaper article he claimed ‘gay rights storm troopers take no prisoners as they annex our wider culture’ and that the modest measure to extend marriage to same-sex couples was proof that ‘Nazi expansionist ambitions are far from sated’.
Stonewall added: “In later comments he compared those who challenge bigotry to perpetrators of the Holocaust”.
In response, Mr Craig said: “The Bigot of the Year Award is a vicious name-calling Stonewall annual event that reflects more on the donor than the recipient.
“By attempting to bully, intimidate, humiliate and generate hatred of individuals through the award, Stonewall fully justifies the Gaystapo tag which I gave the organisation and for which apparently I have been nominated.
Mr Craig continued: “Nonetheless if I win the award over the other candidates and if Stonewall invite me, and permit me without harassment to offer a proper acceptance speech, I plan to attend their awards dinner and ceremony”.
Lord Ken Maginnis, the former Ulster Unionist MP, who previously referred to same-sex marriage as “unnatural and deviant behaviour” and the UK’s most senior Catholic Cardinal Keith O’ Brien, who believes same-sex relationships are harmful, have also been nominated in the category.
Those nominated for the charity’s “Hero of the Year” award include US equal marriage ice cream giants Ben & Jerry, the former director of Manchester Pride, Jackie Crozier, and bisexual UK popstar Jessie J.
