‘James, Joe and David were gentlemen’

THE CHIEF executive of

Reading Pride has paid tribute to James Furlong, Joe RitchieBennett and DavidWails.

In a statement, Martin Cooper said: “It is with deep sadness that I write this. Friends of Reading Pride have been taken too soon due to the actions of an individual.

“The individuals taken were personal friends of mine. They were supporters of Reading as a community and of Reading Pride.

“James, Joe, and David were true gentlemen.

“Each with their own unique personality. Theywere regulars of The Blagrave Arms, a community pub, whose regulars will be in mourning.”

On Monday night, a minute’s silence was held outside the pub for the victims.

JamieWake, a friend of the victims, told The Daily Telegraph: “I wish I could stand here and say that I can make sense of the senseless. Sadly today, like many others, I can’t.

“We become so used to seeing incidents like this on the television.

“This time, we cannot change the channel. This time, it's on our doorstep. And this time, it’s happened to people we know.

“The LGBT+ community and our allies, here in Reading, are close family, and we’re stood here outside The Blagrave, a place we call home, and a safe space for so manymembers of our community.

“A place that we have all been drawn to as we unite together, to mourn as one.”

And a heart-shaped floral tribute has been placed outside the pub, with candles, and a note — signed by The Blagrave Arms — that reads: “Our hearts are broken and our thoughts go out to their families and friends; also to the other victims of this disgusting vicious attack.

"Our friends were the kindest, most genuine, and most loveliest people in our community that we had the pleasure of knowing.

“They’ll be forever in our thoughts.”

Robbie de Santos, the director of Stonewall, also paid tribute to the victims.

He said: “Our thoughts are with those affected by the attack in Reading on Saturday. It’s heartbreaking to hear two of the victims were LGBT.

“But we can’t let Islamophobic, racist and xenophobic rhetoric be used to divide us. We must stand together to make progress.”