Metropolitan police officers were told they could not wear a badge which honours colleagues killed in the line of duty incase it offended members of the LGBT community.
Families of the fallen officers have responded to the "completely crazy" command which saw the Thin Blue Line emblem - a black and white Union flag with a thin horizontal blue line - banned during Pride celebrations in London.
The force said the badge, which is "a mark of remembrance and respect" for those who died in the line of duty, is similar to another symbol, based on the American Stars and Stripes which has been linked to transphobic far-Right groups in the US.
Debbie Adlam, the mother of murdered police constable Andrew Harper, said it was a symbol of her son’s "dedication to the force".
Families of the fallen officers have responded to the 'completely crazy' command which saw the Thin Blue Line emblem banned during Pride celebrations in London
PA
"Since we lost Andrew we have considered the Thin Blue Line image to be a universal memorial to the loss of these officers," she told The Mail.
Others have also condemned the decision, including one former officer, Henry Miller.
Miller, who founded the free speech campaign group Fair Cop, told the Daily Mail: "Nobody in this country says that the Thin Blue Line is political.
"It’s completely crazy. We have seen officers wearing all kinds of insignia associated with political causes, none of which they should do.
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"But the one thing that police should be able to do is memorialise their own colleagues."
Yesterday, during the largest ever celebration of the LGBT community in Britain, more than 1.5 million people joined London’s Pride march.
Advice from the Met commander ahead of the celebrations said: "No 'Thin Blue Line' badges/patches are to be worn whilst policing this event.
"These have been linked to far-Right and anti-trans groups in the US and this year’s Pride is focusing very much on the trans community. This is non-negotiable and supervisors are expected to ensure this is adhered to please."
Yesterday, during the largest ever celebration of the LGBT community in Britain, more than 1.5 million people joined London’s Pride march
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Former Home Secretary Priti Patel said: "This is the result of vested interest groups imposing political correction and false narratives on our hard-working police officers."
Former Detective Chief Inspector Paul Maleary added: "There are gay officers, black officers, and officers of every conceivable kind that wear this badge with pride. I have trans friends who wear the Thin Blue Line badge.
"It’s a badge of honour and is worn to commemorate the fallen within the British police service. It has nothing to do with politics or the United States."
