Reform councillor accuses Royal British Legion of 'politicising remembrance' as the charity stands by its rainbow Pride poppy badge

Reform UK councillor Joseph Boam, who represents Whitwick ward on Leicestershire County Council, sparked a row by calling the Royal British Legion's Poppy Pride badge an insult to veterans in a Facebook post. He attacked the charity for including the LGBTQ+ support badge in its online shop, writing that the Poppy Appeal exists to honour those who served — 'not to push political agendas.'

The RBL defended the badge as solidarity with personnel who faced dismissal under the pre-2000 ban on LGBT service members serving openly.

Boam's Facebook post, in the Unite The Kingdom group, ended: 'Who else has had enough of this woke virtue signalling c**p!'

The RBL said the badge signals it is 'a safe and inclusive space' for LGBTQIA+ Armed Forces communities.