‘Vicious’ attack on gay club leaves victim with fractured skull
The Eagle, an LGBT+ bar in London, England. (eaglelondon/twitter)
A gay club employee has been left with a fractured skull after being assaulted by three customers.
Two men and a woman hurled homophobic abuse at Eagle London staff after they were asked to leave the smoking area, according to police.
LGBT venues can often be targets for anti-gay people, with both British and French police preventing terror attacks on gay bars over the past year.
The attack happened on July 2 (eagle london/facebook)
Police officers were called to the south-east London club in the early hours of the morning on July 2, and have reported that the three assailants were asked to leave “after making homophobic comments to staff at the venue.
“After being ejected they became violent, assaulting members of staff – causing one to suffer a fractured skull and another, a fractured foot,” the Metropolitan Police statement continued.
Officers arrested two men aged 42 and 30 and one 20-year-old woman at the scene.
“Hate crime in any form will not be tolerated by police” (eagle london/facebook)
The three suspects were taken into custody and later released from a south London police station under investigation.
Investigating officer Detective Constable Phill Govett said: “This was a particularly vicious attack which stemmed from a minor incident and involved the use of homophobic language.
“Hate crime in any form will not be tolerated by police and we will take all possible action to bring perpetrators of these offences to justice.”
The number of LGBT+ venues in London has increased for the first time in years (eagle london/facebook)
Despite the threat of attacks, the number of LGBT+ venues in London has increased for the first time in years, according to new statistics released this week.
There are now 52 LGBT+ venues in the capital city, up from 49 last year. Between 2006 and 2017, the number of LGBT+ venues in London decreased by 61 percent.
The increase has been welcomed by the Mayor of London, Sadiq Khan, who set up an LGBT+ Venues Charter to help curb the decline.
LGBT couples have more spaces than ever (Dan Kitwood/Getty)
Khan is now calling on more venues to sign up to the charter, which serves as a practical tool for developers and pub companies to help protect venues at risk of closure or changing use.
The increase in the number of LGBT+ venues comes as a relief after University College London’s (UCL) Urban Laboratory published a report last year which looked at the decline in-depth.
They pinpointed the negative impact of large-scale developments and a lack of safeguarding measures as being detrimental for LGBT+ venues in London.
Police have foiled terror attacks on LGBT venues in France and Britain (freefotouk/Flickr)
The UCL report suggested that this decrease was happening despite continued demand, and that these venues were closing because of external issues.
Speaking about the increase in venues, Mayor Sadiq Khan said: “I’m proud that our capital stands as a shining light of diversity to the world and it’s important to me that the LGBT+ community always feels that they have a home in London.”
Anyone with information or who witnessed the incident is asked to contact DC Govett on 020 8649 2133. To remain anonymous call Crimestoppers on 0800 555 111.
