Two men stabbed in homophobic attack outside London nightclub
Two men were taken to hospital after being stabbed in a homophobic attack outside a south London nightclub.
The pair, one in their 20s and the other in their 30s, were on Clapham High Street at about 10.15pm on Sunday when they were targeted outside the Two Brewers. They were treated in hospital and discharged.
The Metropolitan police are searching for a suspect in the attack, which they are treating as homophobic.
The drag performer Mary Mac, who was at the Two Brewers on Sunday, tweeted: “It’s shocking and disgusting that in 2023 this is becoming frighteningly more frequent. The team at the Two Brewers were incredible in dealing with this and keeping us inside the venue safe, glad the victims have been discharged and hope they are with loved ones now to help.”
The mayor of London, Sadiq Khan, urged witnesses to come forward. He tweeted: “This is abhorrent. There is no place for hate in London. It’s a huge relief the victims are out of hospital – my thoughts remain with them and their loved ones.
“If you have any information, please do not stay silent.”
DI Gary Castle said: “We are acutely aware of the shock this attack will cause members of the LGBT+ community and want to reassure people that an urgent investigation is ongoing to locate the person responsible.
“We recently announced the reinstatement of LGBT+ community liaison officers for each of our 12 basic command units in London to support and advise on investigations where homophobia is a motive and to ensure the community has a dedicated point of contact to address any concerns they may have.”
Stonewall called on ministers to set out a plan to deal with hate crime following the stabbing. The campaign group said: “We are appalled to hear that two men have been stabbed in an apparent homophobic attack outside a
LGBTQ+ venue in Clapham.
“It is unacceptable for LGBTQ+ people to live in fear. We call on the UK government to set out its plan to deal with rising hate crime.”
People were urged to come forward and speak to the police at the end of 2021 if they had been targeted with homophobic and transphobic abuse, as campaigners said concerning figures showing the prevalence of such attacks were likely to be underestimates.
Data released by 37 of the UK’s 46 police forces under freedom of information laws in December that year showed that in a period that coincided with the easing of Covid lockdown restrictions in summer 2021, the number of recorded sexual orientation hate crimes had reached their highest level since before the pandemic.
LGBTQ+ organisations suggested there could be many reasons for the rise, including an increased number of people being out and about, and the reopening of the night-time economy. Saying the real hate crime figures are likely to be higher because of underreporting, they said the data was nevertheless a “stark reminder” that LGBTQ + people were “still at risk of attack because of who we are”.
Perhaps underlining their concern, it emerged in February that the Birmingham LGBT Centre had been the target of homophobic criminal damage for the third time in recent years.
Anyone with information can contact police on 101 or via @MetCC on Twitter, or Crimestoppers anonymously on 0800 555 111 or online.