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Manchester police arrest 13 in gay pub raid

01 May 1994

The truce that appeared to have been established between the Manchester lesbian and gay community and local police was broken early on the morning of April 24 when the "Mineshaft" club was raided. Police burst into at 1.30am armed with warrants and arrested thirteen people. They stated that they carried out the raid following allegations that men were having sex in a back room in the club and that some customers had been seen smoking cannabis. One man was eventually charged with public order offences, another was cautioned for obstruction and eight men were given cautions for gross indecency.

The raid was described by one eye witness as "frantic". One man, who was cautioned for gross indecency, claimed that a man was dragged out with his trousers around his ankles by officers shouting, "cuff them, cuff them", as they stormed the back room. He described the raid as "shocking" and "disgraceful."

The circumstance of the raid and subsequent arrests have led to anger within the lesbian and gay community. A public meeting, called within hours of the raid taking place, attracted a hundred people and over 200 attended a protest rally the following Tuesday. More than 400 have since taken part in a demonstration through the city centre as part of an on-going campaign.

Relations between the police and a gay scene so large that Manchester has been called "the gay capital of the north" have been strained since the days that the force was run by James Anderton. Anderton was famous for his outspoken views on morality, once describing gay men "swirling around in a cesspit of their own making". Although the current Chief Constable, Derek Wilmott, is said to be more sympathetic to the demands of lesbians and gays the police officer responsible for liaising with the lesbian and gay community acknowledged, these events represent a "major setback for community relations."