The Metropolitan Police has confirmed the Thin Blue Line badge—a monochrome union jack with a blue line running through the middle, worn to commemorate those officers who have been killed in the line of duty—was not on a list of approved insignia for police officers in London.
It comes after the Mail on Sunday reported a commander told officers policing the Pride event in central London the badges were specifically banned because of alleged links to far-right groups in the United States.
The paper said the commander told officers policing Pride—an annual event attended by thousands of members of the LGBT community—the Thin Blue Line badges and patches were not to be worn and added: “These have been linked to far-right and anti-trans groups in the United States and this year’s Pride is focusing very much on the trans community. This is non-negotiable and supervisors are expected to ensure this is adhered to.”…