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

The Royal British Legion's Poppy Pride badge, which the charity says honours LGBTQ+ service personnel who faced discrimination under the military ban on gay personnel lifted in 2000.
The Royal British Legion's Poppy Pride badge, which the charity says honours LGBTQ+ service personnel who faced discrimination under the military ban on gay personnel lifted in 2000.

Joseph Boam, a Reform UK councillor representing Whitwick ward on Leicestershire County Council, sparked a row by calling the Royal British Legion's rainbow Poppy Pride badge an "insult to every veteran" in a Facebook post, demanding to know who had "had enough of this woke virtue signalling."

The RBL defended the badge as support for LGBT+ personnel who faced dismissal under the military's pre-2000 ban on gay service members serving openly.

Boam posted in the Unite The Kingdom Facebook group, accusing the charity of pushing "political agendas" rather than honouring those who served.

The Legion said the badge demonstrates it is "a safe and inclusive space" for the LGBTQIA+ Armed Forces community.

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