'We are the first Pride to face this challenge'

Organisers of a Pride have vowed to protect its future, after a flag was removed from a council's headquarters just days before the event.

Durham will hold its annual celebration at the weekend - one of the first of the season - but the rainbow flag at County Hall was taken down on Wednesday, along with a sign, when Reform UK officially took control.

A council spokesperson said the flag had come down "in line with the protocols of the new administration". Reform has said only national and local flags would now be flown.

Durham Pride chair Mel Metcalf said "we are of course disappointed" and vowed Pride would continue in the city every year.

More than 6,000 people are expected to attend Durham Pride on Sunday at the Sands Field.

Mr Metcalf said the rainbow flag was still "flying proud" at County Hall when he walked past on Wednesday morning, having gone up on Monday.

"I took a photograph of it thinking 'oh, thank you'," he said.

But when he walked past several hours later, he said the flag and a banner about the event had been removed. A Ukrainian flag has also been taken down.

"We are of course disappointed," he said. "But Sunday is about celebrating who we are and giving a nice clear loud message that the flag might have come down on County Hall but we still live in County Durham.

"Many people from the LGBT+ community will still identify and will still show the new council that we are here and that we have a voice."

A Durham County Council spokesperson said the only flags that would be flown at County Hall were Durham's county flag, the union jack and the St George's flag.

The council's deputy leader Darren Grimes, who is gay, defended the decision and said the party - who has 65 councillors following its local election win - was not anti-gay but was "anti-tokenism".

"Flying our national and local flags is an act of unity. Swapping them out for niche political symbols is just more toxic identity politics," he said.

Mr Metcalf said the flag had been flying at the council's headquarters during Pride week for about 12 years and was a way of showing Durham was inclusive.

He said there were concerns over the future of Durham Pride but vowed it would continue.

"I think we are the first Pride to face this challenge and it is a challenge," he said.

"We don't know what the challenge is and we don't know if Pride will go ahead next year, that's the concern of a lot of people.

"All I can say is Pride will happen every year in Durham. It might not be with support from Durham County Council but there will be support from many others."

He said organisers would like to work with the council and there were plans to send a letter to new leader Andrew Husband.

"What we have to do now is have those conversations about how that made the LGBT+ community in Durham feel," he said.

"One flag has come down but there will be hundreds of flags going up over the weekend."

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