Laurence Fox Causes Outrage Over Pride Flag Stunt

Right-wing activist Laurence Fox, no stranger to controversy, was briefly banned from Twitter over the weekend after tweeting the image of a swastika made out of the Progress Flag designs rotated.

With the Progress Flag being hung across a number of London streets in advance of London Pride, and as part of Pride Month, many right-wing commentators drew comparisons to the Union Jack being hung in the same spaces for the Platinum Jubilee earlier this month. Some online had taken offence at the Union Jack, describing it as a step towards the UK becoming more like Nazi Germany.

Not content to let Pride Month pass without comment and just hours after a gunman in Norway opened fire on a gay bar on the eve of Oslo Pride, injuring 20 and killing 2, Fox tweeted the image of the Pride Flags positioned in such a way that the chevrons – added to be inclusive of LGBTQ+ People of Color and the Trans community – made the offensive symbol of a swastika.

LGBTQ+ groups, Holocaust memorial organizations, and many others immediately responded with backlash to the tweet, condemning it as offensive. Fox's account was briefly locked over the weekend until he deleted the image, responding to the affair by saying that people were allowed to call the Union flag a “symbol of fascism and totalitarianism” but, “You cannot criticize the holy flags.”

Fox recently came out as "gender critical" lending his support to transphobe Kellie-Jay Keane, who recently came out in favor of banning trans women from women's sports.

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