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Manchester police arrest 13 in gay pub raid (1)

01 January 1991

Manchester police arrest 13 in gay pub raid
artdoc July=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
offence, 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.'

Statewatch, vol 4 no 3, May-June 1994