17 July, 2009

Conservative leader David Cameron has agreed a deal allowing a man described as “a symbol of homophobia in Poland” to become leader of the Tories’ new group in the European Parliament.

Polish MEP Michal Kaminski was confirmed this week as leader of the Conservatives’ group in the European Parliament, raising questions over how far the Tories are prepared to stand up for gay rights.

Mr Kaminski was a teenage member of the neo-fascist ‘National Revival of Poland’ organisation, and has used the term “fags” to refer to gay people in interviews. He is a member of the Polish Law & Justice Party, which was described by another of its MEPs, Konrad Szymanskitold, as “against both homosexual marriages and the adoption of children by gays and lesbians”.

Katie Hanson, LGBT Labour co-chair, said:

“Once again, David Cameron’s warm words on gay rights evaporate when it comes to standing up to homophobes. We are seeing this again and again – Cameron is happy to grab a gay-friendly headline when it suits him, but when it comes to voting on gay rights or tackling homophobia in his own party, he is simply not prepared to stand up for us.”

The Times reported yesterday that David Cameron spoke to the Polish Prime Minister to agree a deal to let Kaminski lead the Tories’ group. Kaminski was described by Robert Biedron, a board member of Poland's Campaign Against Homophobia, as "a symbol of homophobia in Poland”, adding “as an MEP he consistently voted against resolutions that fight homophobia in Europe”.