British ambassador to Poland accused of “ignorance” for supporting gay rights
June 11th, 2009
The British ambassador to Poland has been accused of ‘representing the homosexual lobby’ after he gave a booklet on LGBT rights to a Polish gay rights leader.
“Ambassador Todd has exceeded his authority,” Janusz Kochanowski, the Polish civil rights ombudsman told the Daily Mail.
“He is being improper and doesn’t understand the role of a diplomat. He represents the UK, he is not meant to intervene here in the way that he chooses.”
The row is over a translated copy of UK Guide To Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual And Transgender People And Their Rights, part of an LGBT Toolkit issued by the Foreign and Commonwealth Office to the UK’s 261 embassies, high commissions and other diplomatic posts around the world.
The toolkit gives information on the official British policy on LGBT issues, as well as advice on working to promote the rights of LGBT people across the world.
Ric Todd gave the booklet to the gay rights group ahead of this weekend’s gay pride march in Warsaw.
Slawomir Skiba, editor of Christian Polonia, a Catholic newspaper, said: “The ambassador has demonstrated an extreme lack of diplomacy and absolute ignorance of the values by which the vast majority of our society lives.”
Skiba added that Ric Todd should confine himself to represent the interests of Britain, not the “homosexual lobby”.
Todd has denied that his actions were inappropriate. “I am not interfering in Polish politics or society nor am I criticising it,” he said.
“Foreign Office policy is clearly spelt out and I am acting in accordance with policy.
“We have achieved a lot of good things around the world on the subject of LGBT rights.
“None of this is any suggestion by me or the Foreign Office that the Polish policy on LGBT rights is wrong. After all the pride organisers met with me and that shows that Poland is a tolerant society.”
In 2008 Ric Todd – who has a wife and three children – demonstrated the UK’s support for LGBT rights by flying a rainbow flag next to the Union Flag at the British embassy in Warsaw.
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