It has been reported that both Coutts and Barclays banks have threatened to pull out of sponsoring the 7th annual Stonewall Awards as a result of a complaint from the Christian Voice.
The Christian Voice, a fundamentalist Christian advocacy group, have been actively contacting sponsors and supporters of the awards to object to Stonewall’s Bigot of the Year Award. The nominees include Cardinal Keith O’Brien and Archbishop Philip Tartaglia as public figures who have openly discriminated against the LGB community in the last 12 months. The Bigot of the Year award has been a fixture of the event since 2007.
The Christian Voice are reportedly objecting to the word ‘bigot’ being used in association with members of the church. They have also published a leaflet condemning PWC for their continued support of the Stonewall awards.
The Christian Voice have yet to make contact with Square Peg Media, who are sponsoring the Community Project of the Year award.
Linda Riley, MD of Square Peg Media said: “It is not the role of sponsors to dictate the award categories. By trying to put pressure on Stonewall, they are alluding to the fact that this award is wrong. Even more surprising is the fact that this particular award has been there for the last six years and sponsors should have been aware of the controversy surrounding this award in previous years. The fact that Barclays and Coutts could potentially end their sponsorship of the awards has only further strengthened Square Peg Media’s resolve to remain sponsors of these awards this year and in future years.”
Laura Doughty, deputy Chief Executive of Stonewall, said: ‘We’re delighted that Square Peg is once again showing resolute support for our Awards. We work hard every single day to make a positive difference to Britain’s 3.7 million lesbian, gay and bisexual people. Thanks to Square Peg’s support we can work harder still.’
