EuroPride comes to London!

10.40.47pm GMT Mon 3rd Jul 2006

Baroness Sarah Ludford and members of the Liberal Democrats celebrating Europride in London

London's Liberal Democrat Euro-MP Baroness Sarah Ludford joined fellow Liberal Democrat gay rights campaigners at Saturday's EuroPride march and rally in central London.

Sarah is a member of the European Parliament's LGBT Intergroup, which fights to uphold equality and respect for EU anti-discrimination laws.

She said: "I'm delighted that Europride is in London, one of the most diverse cities in the world. Here in the UK, while a lot has been achieved on gay rights, there remains work to do to achieve real equality."

"Homophobia is rife in parts of Europe, even, disgracefully, in some states now in the EU. While tomorrow's march will be a celebration with a carnival atmosphere, gay pride marches in other European countries have been banned by authorities or subject to harassment, threats, violence and hate speech."

"The EU has a duty to ALL its citizens to ensure that their fundamental rights are respected, and must take a lead in enforcing EU equalities laws and making homophobic hate crime punishable by harsh penalties."