Pride in London race row as most senior black member quits and organisers admit 'we must do better'

Tap above to watch Lucrezia Millarini's interview with Rhammel Afflick

The most senior black member of Pride in London's leadership team has quit over concerns of racism in the organisation.

Rhammel Afflick, who worked as Director of Communications, said black volunteers were often excluded and organisers turned a blind eye to bigotry.

"Pride should be and needs to be for every part of our community and that means Pride in London has to do more to speak up for black communities," Rhammel told ITV News London.

"It [racism] manifests in many different ways - so it might be gaslighting and making people feel like what they have to say isn't isn't really real. Or it might be you raise issues and not hear back," he added.

Rhammel worked as a volunteer for Pride in London for seven years and felt there was a feeling of "not being protected" when things go wrong, including complaints not being handled properly.

"These are issues many people will be able to relate to in the workplace because black people do speak out, they do say what's wrong and there's a failure to act on those things," Rhammel said.

Pride in London has apologised to its volunteers and communities "particularly people of colour and those from Black communities" for whom they "missed the mark".

A spokesperson added: "We know we must do better to serve the communities we represent, especially those who are underrepresented, and we accept the seriousness of the issues raised with us."

Organisers said a strategy for diversity and inclusion had been introduced but added, "we are very much still on this journey."

Rhammel said the time had come for pride to demonstrate it was serious about change.

"We can say all the right things, but if it doesn't result in black volunteers feeling differently about their experiences within the organisation - then that's all it is - just words on a piece of paper - we need to see a difference in the way black people are treated in the organisation," Rhammel said.

This year's Pride in London was moved from its usual Summer date to the weekend of 11th September.

Organisers of the UK’s largest Pride said they were able to put plans in place after the government revealed its roadmap out of lockdown.