London police officers have appealed to the public for information regarding a group of men who attacked a gay couple for holding hands along the South Bank on January 1.
The two men, aged 28 and 31, were walking past the National Theatre when four men wearing hoods assaulted them and then ran away.
Police are treating the attack, which left both men with facial wounds and bruising, as a hate crime. The incident happened in broad daylight at 2:30 PM in one of London’s busiest areas.
Police are appealing for anyone with information in relation to the assault to contact officers at Lambeth, or to contact the Metropolitan police via Twitter or by calling Crimestoppers on 0800 555 111.
A spokesperson from London’s police force said this in relation to the incident:
“The victims aged 28 and 31 were holding hands, suffered facial injuries and bruising in the assault. They did not require hospital treatment.
“The suspects are all described as white, aged in their mid-twenties and wearing hooded tops. They left in the direction of the OXO tower.
“Officers are issuing images of three of the four suspects in a bid to identify them.”
Additionally, London police are also seeking information on a separate homophobic incident which happened on August 9 last year. Authorities have launched a search for a woman who allegedly threw coffee on a gay couple on a train after they asked her to take her bag off a seat. The woman then shouted homophobic abuse at the men and physically assaulted one of them in the face multiple times. She then got off the westbound Hammersmith and City line train at Bromley by Bow station.
In the past, London’s mayor Sadiq Khan condemned hate crime in the UK’s capital:
“Let me be clear, hate crime will not be tolerated anywhere in London. In London, you are free to be whoever you are, happy and safe.
“London is a warm, inclusive and welcoming place, and I’m grateful for all your support over the last 16 months, not for me but for all of us.
“London is open to all people regardless of race, gender and sexuality and open to love.”
© 2019 GCN (Gay Community News). All rights reserved.
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