Feminist Campaigner Thrown Out of Pride in Surrey for Asking About Safeguarding

Published on: 9 Sep, 2025
Updated on: 11 Sep, 2025

Julie Bindel being told to leave by security staff. Image Julie Bindel

By Esme Campbell

Security staff ejected a feminist campaigner from the Pride in Surrey event in Stoke Park on Saturday (September 6) after she questioned the event’s safeguarding over the former pride director’s paedophilia conviction.

Concerned about the lack of external scrutiny, journalist and women’s rights activist Julie Bindel attended Pride to interview multiple people about safeguarding, including Guildford MP Zöe Franklin, who Bindel claims requested her removal.

Bindel wrote in the Spectator: “Zöe Franklin became increasingly reticent in her responses to our questions about what safeguarding policies had been put in place for this year’s event. A couple of minutes later, we were told to leave.”

The Liberal Democrats denied Franklin’s involvement in Bindel’s removal. A spokesperson said: “This is entirely false – Zöe did not ask officials to remove anyone from the pride event,” adding that the decision was made entirely by Pride in Surrey organisers, following multiple complaints by attendees.

Franklin reportedly believed that Surrey police had rubber-stamped the event’s safety, as claimed on the Pride in Surrey website, but this was refuted by Surrey Police and Crime Commissioner Lisa Townsend on X.

I don’t speak on behalf of the Force (my job is to hold them to account), but I would make the purely factual point that Surrey Police have not ‘made it explicitly clear that there are no concerns with [PiS] organisation, structure, safeguarding…’

— Lisa Townsend (@_Lisa_Townsend) September 6, 2025

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Bindel told the Guildford Dragon NEWS: “It was quite extraordinary that she didn’t know,” stating that Franklin became defensive about it.

I was thrown out of Pride in Surrey today (along with my producer @misssamsmith) at the behest of the MP for Guildford, who got very defensive when I asked her about safeguarding shortcomings. We are researching the Pride in Surrey scandal for a podcast series coming soon. pic.twitter.com/F3iaDPTgmM

— Julie Bindel (@bindelj) September 6, 2025

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Bindel said: “It absolutely was her, you could see it, extremely clearly. She complained, and the next second security have come over to us.” The journalist was also certain that no one else she interviewed had the chance to approach the VIP section to report her, and nor did they, she insisted, have any cause to.

But Guildford Lib Dems, who had a stand at the event but did not sponsor it, have reiterated today that Franklin played no part in the decision to expel Bindel and did not make any complaints against her.

Pride in Surrey also told the BBC it was “entirely false” to suggest Franklin had any involvement in the decision. “The decision to remove Julie Bindel was made following multiple reports from attendees of harassment by Ms Bindel.

“This decision was made solely by the Pride in Surrey organisers and was facilitated by our security team in line with event protocols.”

Stephen Ireland

Many had urged the cancellation of Pride in Surrey this year, as the founder, Stephen Ireland, was convicted of multiple sexual offences against minors, alongside his partner, David Sutton.

Ireland was the self-appointed safeguarding officer and had unsupervised access to vulnerable children via a helpline he ran.

Bindel was inquiring why Pride in Surrey went ahead despite insufficient external scrutiny.

“I can’t believe there’s no accountability in terms of who should have been looking at safeguarding issues. It’s a disgrace,” she said.

“I hope that the police, the local authorities and others that are tasked with safeguarding and scrutiny of Pride in Surrey will do their jobs. But certainly, they won’t stop me from doing my job.”

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