Pride & Predator: The scandal of Pride in Surrey

How did Stephen Ireland, once a prominent figure in Pride in the UK and founder of the Pride in Surrey group, build trust, credibility and influence, while carrying out sexual crimes against children?

In June of this year, Stephen Ireland was given a lengthy jail sentence for multiple child sexual offences, including the rape of a 12-year-old boy. He was also co-founder of Pride in Surrey (PiS) – a not-for-profit organisation that that seeks to “put LGBTQ plus people on the map” by means of an annual march and celebratory parade.

Surrey County Council (SCC) appeared so unaware of the dangers that even after the arrest of Ireland (alongside a PiS volunteer), they put out a call for ‘adult volunteers’ to offer a child in care “fun activities and one-to-one time”.

But for years, Ireland had been targeting vulnerable children, his senior position providing the perfect smokescreen. “He counted on people being too scared of being accused of being called homophobic or bigoted if they challenged him,” one whistleblower told me. “Because, in the past, some people have said that gays are not safe around children, some paedophiles groom children in plain sight, whilst those in authority look the other way.”

Stephen Ireland, promoting Pride

By summer 2019, Ireland had groomed several local councils squarely into his corner, and when Surrey Town Hall raised the rainbow flag for the very first time, a 14-year-old LGBTQI+ ambassador did the honours, flanked by councillors.

The Pride Hub was marketed as an inclusive space to meet, chat, shop and make friends, and Ireland announced a resolution to create more so-called safe spaces and – creepily – to reach more children. He promised to “hold more fundraising events that welcome under-18s and our families”.

Educate and Celebrate was a group which went into primary schools to promote gender identity teaching; in 2020, it made Ireland a patron. A fellow ambassador was trans activist Jordan Gray – the singer and comedian who famously got his penis out on Channel 4.

Today’s Pride events bear little resemble to those of yesteryear, which were altogether gentler affairs, organised by lesbians and gay men who wanted to be able to live without fear of violence and prejudice. Ironically, now that we have full legal rights, Pride parades and rallies have turned into free-for-all fetish parties featuring pornographic, sexualized imagery, sex toys and near-nakedness. And, since they tend to be billed as family-friendly days out, children are being exposed to all of this – as if it were harmless.

And this summer, I – a lesbian activist all of my adult life, who came out in the 1970s, when we had no legal protections – was thrown out of the PiS event simply for asking questions, as part of my research for a new podcast series, Pride and Predator, on the Stephen Ireland scandal.

Beneath this umbrella of celebration, Surrey police actually sheltered a predatory child sex abuser – even though the first whistleblowers had come forward with suspicions about Stephen Ireland in 2021. Local law enforcement, media, local authorities, and child safeguarding experts alike buried their heads in the sand, refusing to see that a Jimmy Savile-type predator was operating in their midst, in plain sight.

When Stephen Ireland and his co-defendant David Sutton were finally arrested in April 2024, following the reported rape, the worst fears of several of those who had tried to raise the alarm were confirmed. Ireland was accused of three counts of causing a child under 13 to engage in sexual activity, sexual assault, conspiracy to engage in sexual activity with a child, facilitating a child sexual offence, six counts of making child abuse imagery, distributing pornographic images of children, and possession of one of the most serious child abuse images, involving a toddler.

Local councils had formal ties to PiS, and the Surrey Police website listed it as a “partner agency” offering “information, advice, and support” on LGBTQ issues (in addition to the force’s LGBTQ liaison officers).

As a way of “making amends” for the bad old days of widespread police prejudice against gay men, it seems there is now a concerted effort to do the opposite: any red flags raised are viewed as bigotry, the public parading of fetishes is welcomed, and safeguarding has been jettisoned.

PiS did have a safeguarding lead, but it was Ireland – self-appointed. As the most senior figure in the organisation, he made himself untouchable – itself an obvious warning sign that was studiously ignored.

PiS and its allies did for Stephen Ireland exactly what the Catholic Church did to protect child abuser priests. Every concern raised about him was glossed over – by police, by the county council, and by the BBC. Whistleblowers were vilified. Predators hid behind rainbow camouflage.

When Lisa Townsend, Police and Crime Commissioner, relayed her suspicions about Stephen Ireland to Chief Constable Gavin Stephens, he did not investigate – instead, he warned her that she had “three years to make it up to him.” (Stephens was so entrenched in trans lunacy, he told staff he’d use the women’s loos if he woke up “as a woman”).

During one Pride event, Ireland and fellow PiS ambassador and football referee, Lucy Clark (a bloke) were invited to sit in a rainbow-adorned squad car holding up a sign: “Terfy Townsend is transphobic and not fit for office”. Uniformed officers stood by.

Lucy Clark

Other women who tried to blow the whistle were systematically either ignored, or punished. After raising concerns about Ireland, Rebecca Paul (now MP for Reigate) was, as a local councillor, stripped of her Equality Diversity and Inclusion role at Surrey County Council.

No investigation of how Ireland was allowed to abuse children in plain sight has been published. The public has no idea who is conducting it, or how external it really is.

In 2021, Ireland was engaged to his Pride sidekick, Charlie Watts, and also in a sexual relationship with PiS volunteer Samuel Powell, who was only 18 years old. This was what first set alarm bells ringing for long-time PiS member Marion Harding.

That same year, Ireland launched a helpline for young people. Creepily, again, it was called “You Are Not Alone”. It was run from a single mobile phone, which he kept on him at all times. No one else was allowed access.

“He was adamant that he was the only person qualified to deal with it. He was not in any way, shape or form qualified,” says Marion.

After challenging Ireland, Marion received a “cease and desist” letter and was warned by chief operating officer for PiS and friend of Ireland, Lisa Finnan Cook, that unless she complied with it, she could be reported to police – and arrested for her alleged behaviour and discrimination. “I was told if I turned up to the event I had tickets for, which I had helped to arrange, I would be arrested,” she says.

Several members, mostly women, have since walked away from the PiS team – as far as we know, no women are currently involved. Both of the two young men now in charge at PiS (including of safeguarding!) were involved in chemsex orgies and close to Stephen Ireland.

So many red flags were raised. There was that helpline, set up for young people and entirely without oversight.

There was the interview with Surrey Fostering and Adoption in which Ireland said: “when you’ve got children that have been abused, they’ve been neglected… and they need a loving home, then why not give something back… and change their future”.

He certainly did change one boy’s future – but not for the better.

Katie is part of a group called Women of Surrey, set up in hope of getting the local authorities in question to finally see sense.

Stephen Ireland and David Sutton were convicted on March 13, 2025. When Katie found out, she emailed Surrey County Council and Guildford Borough Council, copying in her MP, to express concern about the councils’ relationship with PiS. She knew that any organisation discovering its founder and safeguarding lead to be an extremely dangerous, predatory paedophile must step back and review everything – and there was no sign that this was happening.

There still isn’t.

Safeguarding depends on a culture where questions are allowed and those who raise them are not punished for doing so.

Sentencing Ireland in June, Judge Patricia Lees said: “Stephen Ireland is a man who prided himself on being versed in and highly alive to the vulnerabilities of young people linked to the Surrey Pride organisation.” Heads should hang in shame – not just at Pride in Surrey, but at every institution that looked away.

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You can listen to all five episodes of Pride & Predator on my Substack, or wherever you get your podcasts. Watch the trailer here: