A trustee of one of the charities which distributes money raised by Brighton Pride has apologised over unpaid grants and an unsecured loan to a company he runs.
A number of local charities and organisations who were awarded grants by The Brighton Rainbow Fund (BRF) have either not been paid or were paid late, causing “severe” difficulties for them.
But its recently published accounts show the charity – which is independent of Pride – loaned £48,000 to Scene Magazine Media Community Interest Company, the publisher of GScene magazine, of which trustee Christopher Gull is a director. No deadline was set for the money to be repaid.
Both the fund and the magazine were founded by James Ledward, who died five years ago, and after whom the Ledward Centre in Jubilee Street is named.
The latest accounts of the non-profit company which runs the magazine show that without loans from BRF and Mr Gull himself, its outgoings would have been twice its income. There is no suggestion Mr Gull benefited personally from the loan.
The charity also gave the non-profit Ledward Centre a £225,175 grant to help with set up costs.
Now Mr Gull says he is stepping down as a trustee and BRF has referred itself to the Charity Commission.
He said: “I have made some bad decisions, which I know have caused severe problems for groups affected, and for individuals involved, and having been working to benefit and support the community for so many years I bitterly regret those consequences.
“I repeat that the responsibility for these decisions is mine, and that I will be cooperating with The Charity Commission in their investigation, and look forward to their detailed conclusions being made public and everyone in our community having access to that information.
“My other regret is the reputational damage which should only be applied to me is being liberally spread around by gossip and innuendo.
“This includes not only The Brighton Rainbow Fund itself, which remains a fantastic and unique concept, and which has been central to the progress of so many of the services in the city, but also The Ledward Centre and the hard working staff there who continue to make this essential resource progress through really difficult times.
“Also Brighton Pride who under Paul Kemp have made fundraising for the community central to the whole event, and who´ve made so many of the things BRF has been able to do possible.”
Mr Gull, 73, is not paid for any of his roles at BRF, the Ledward Centre or Scene Magazine.
He said he wanted to refer himself to the Charity Commission earlier in the summer, but was told the referral should come from the remaining trustees, which it has now done.
Community Works, an umbrella organisation which supports local charities, is now working with BRF and the recipients of grants. Mr Gull said no BRF money is currently going to Scene or The Ledward Centre.
Mr Gull and Mr Ledward had helped set up a precursor to the Ledward Centre, the Rainbow Hub, in 2015.
After Mr Ledward died, BRF set up the community interest company which now runs The Ledward Centre and acquired the lease on its behalf.
Mr Gull said: “Since The Ledward Centre is a BRF project, and they hold the lease, I don´t believe that there is any conflict of interest. This of course will be investigated by The Charity Commission.
“On reflection the directorship of Scene is a conflict of interest and will also be investigated by The Charity Commission.
“All funds directed to The Ledward Centre have been invested into running costs and fitting out the unit, and funds directed to Scene have been invested in running costs.
“There is no suggestion that I have benefited financially in any of these trustee and unpaid director roles.”
The other two trustees of BRF are Maria Baker and Jane Pritchard. Ms Pritchard said: “Our priority currently is to ensure that the groups that were awarded grants this year receive those grants as soon as possible.
“We are acutely aware that the delays have caused considerable problems to the groups affected.”
A spokesperson for Brighton Pride said: “Brighton and Hove Pride is one of the biggest annual contributors to the Rainbow Fund. Alongside the Brighton Bears Weekend other LGBTQI+ supporting venues across our city, we have raised thousands of pounds in funding for the fund.
“The Rainbow Fund is a totally independent charity that allocates grants to support local LGBTQI+ groups to continue the amazing work that such organisations provide.
“Over the last 10 years, Pride has fulfilled, and often exceeded, our fundraising obligations to the Rainbow Fund. Pride fundraising monies have been delivered to the Rainbow Fund through Brighton Pride community foundation.
“We will wait to hear the outcome of the Charites Commission enquiry, and we will not comment further while that is underway.
“Pride will always remain committed to funding and supporting our local community groups. We will be reviewing how we manage fundraising arrangements with community partners to find the best way to do this going forward.”
A Charity Commission spokesperson said: “We are assessing concerns raised about the Brighton Rainbow Fund to determine if there is a role for the commission.”
So all of those fundraisers n pride tix money has gone on the Ledward centre n a magazine
If that’s the case then it’s also worth pointing out that the Ledward centre and Scene magazine are both LGBTQ+ community assets, and not-for-profit organisations, just like the other groups. And it’s not ‘all’ the Rainbow Fund money that has gone their way.
The problem here is that money promised to other deserving community causes has not arrived as expected – or, so far, has not arrived on time.
As ever, economics and budgets rule our decisions, and there will have to be a re-set about where Rainbow Fund money is allocated.
It’s perhaps important to note here that no individual has run off with any money, and that most organisations involved here are largely run by volunteers.
Hundreds of thousands have been given without anyone knowing to the Ledward Centre and Gscene that were promised to the other community groups that haven’t been paid. It is Chris Gull and Rainbow fund who are at fault here alone, fact. Stop defending his appalling actions and think about the good groups that have lost the money they were promised. Shameful.
Groups are owed tens of thousands
I’m going to comment here because it’s important to stress that Chris Gull is both a decent man and indeed a bit of a saint in our community – and he has worked endlessly and for free since his retirement from an earlier career.
Chris Gull was put in the difficult position when James Ledward died, in taking over the reins to keep the Gscene magazine going, and this coincided with the covid lockdown period and the recession in pubs and clubs – the LGBTQ+ businesses which originally financed the Gscene monthly output.
Pride also had some bad years during and following covid, with the 2023 come-back festival being a financial disaster because of the terrible weather that year on that August weekend. And so the Rainbow Fund’s finances, fed from Pride profits, must have taken a similar hit.
I have no personal involvement but, as an ex magazine journalist, I’m guessing the hope was that Gscene could trade its way out of the Covid period debt, as all magazines are trying to do. But the current decline in pub and club attendance – and in their revenues – continues in this city. So I’m guessing that Gscene must also be struggling with a lack of advertising revenue, while still having office space and staff to pay for.
Gscene, or ‘Scene Magazine’ have recently published their October issue, and I for one wish them well, because the tradition of Brighton having its local LGBTQ+ publication must continue.
Chris Gull has taken the correct path in referring the situation to the charities commission, and we can only hope that there is a re-set, that allows the massive flow of Pride funds to reach their proper targets amongst the many community groups who benefit – groups who help so much as part of the city’s wider social care system.
Disastrous 2023 you mean when they took money off residents and businesses for allowing them access to their own properties. This is one charity that deserves to be investigated by the charity commission and the council needs to stop doing them any special favours and treat them the same in terms of charging them for public land use as if any other commercial operator wanted access to large parts of the town.
A bit of a saint? He’s just given him self/companies he is part of 300k of charity money which was meant for real charities. 300k!!! Gscene needs to pay back the money straight away and ifs it not financially viable it should close like other businesses which are not viable do. Who else at the rainbow fund signed off on these loans? Surely Chris could not have done this him self? The entire board should resign.
Chris Gull here, the subject of this article, the content of which is fair and accurate, BUT I have asked twice that the headline is changed. It is factualIy incorrect, and misleading. I am not a Trustee of a Pride charity. Although the content goes on to make it clear that Pride and Brighton Rainbow Fund are seperate and independent charities, it is disingenuous to suggest that anymore than a small proportion of readers seeing that headline go on to read the content, and will be left with the impression that a Trustee of Brighton Pride is apologising or the subject of a referral to The Charity Commission. Some of the early comments here illustrate that that link is already in some people´s minds. Nothing coud be further from the truth, many of the charities and groups that provide such excellent service and support to our communities owe much to Pride who have raised so much for them over the last few years. It is me who has let them down, and not Pride. It is grossly unfair that this headline does not make this clear…I ask again here…please change that headline, and maybe print a “retraction”.. if I can admit a mistake so can you.
Fingers in the till, not a good look
You can’t be further from the truth with that comment. Have you ever given up loads of time for nothing to help your community????
Did you actually read the article? There’s no allegations of theft.
There was nothing in the article that states or implies “fingers in the til”
The article isn’t clear on how this happened. Surely Brighton Pride have a responsibility to
Make sure their money gets to where is supposed to in the same way charities have to show where their funds go…?
Which charities have been affected , how much is owed and what is happening to fix this mess other than this apology. The article mentions 300 grand… if the small charity I volunteer with loaned even £300 they would need to justify it and whenever we fill out bids for funds or take large donations we have to prove it isn’t being laundered.
Glad no one personally has benefitted but nonetheless – who is missing out because of this is not clear at all.
I agree. I think all the charitable companies need to be investigated,
Even as Brighton Pride’s organisers gear up for the 2025 festivities, the shadow of financial scandal looms large. The Charity Commission’s findings could force the festival to revisit its funding model and will hopefully put stronger safeguards in place to ensure that all funds genuinely benefit the wider LGBTQ+ community rather than propping up struggling businesses run by those in the know.
Meanwhile, grassroots groups in the city are left wondering if their pleas for financial support will continue to be met with empty promises while hundreds of thousands flow into the coffers of projects with the right connections. For many, the irony of a celebration meant to fight exclusion turning into an exclusive club is hard to swallow.
As the rainbow dust begins to settle, one thing is clear: the true story behind Brighton’s Pride money trail isn’t about parades and parties, but rather, who controls the purse strings and who decides where the charity cash ends up. The colourful bunting may still fly high, but behind the scenes, there’s an urgent need for accountability, transparency, and a commitment to putting the community first. Otherwise, Brighton Pride’s good name might find itself permanently in the red.
The struggling business as you call it now the scene magazine, was the idea behind the Rainbow fund. James sadly died that set the fund up as Pride was losing money until he got involved. Now it raises loads of money for charity. The article is very badly wrote by someone who does not understand what he or she is reporting giving people the wrong idea. The scene magazine sadly not in a printed version these days but understandable due to the cost is still the voice of our community. I think money going into it is well spent as it came to the help when our community needed it so we should also help in its time of need.
Covid, less people going out so venues can’t afford advertising all adds up. I just hope Labour don’t bring in a smoking ban outside of pubs etc it will kill the nightime economy.
I agree it doesn’t look like Chris benefitted but looking at the accounts of Scene they have lost thousands over the last few years. Its about charities in the community missing out for me because Scene has been prioritised over them.
Also, why are his flights being paid for when they are struggling? This should be paid back at least
A loan agreement should have been in place and the whole of the Rainbow Fund has now been risked to prop up Scene Magazine
Looking through the Scene website, giving money to them is just a waste of cash that’ll probably never be seen again. Too many links on the site don’t work, the opinions page last had an article in 2018, click on their Pride page and it goes to an article written 11 years ago. The main news story today (Oct 21) is about Moscow, why give them money at all!
I am definitely not saying the magazine is not needed, but today we have podcasts, the scene is pretty much dead most nights as you say, the very nature of our community seems to be changing, I just wonder how scene could adapt to this…
James was good to me, may he rest in peace. But transparency in how these decisions are made is needed, the total value of donations to local organisations has dropped significantly over the years, so it was nice to see a large amount handed over last year by brighton pride. 250k+
But these organisations need to reform and be a lot more representative, I feel for Chris as clearly from the above there was significant stress going on. But again, Chris lives in Spain, others in the community volunteer also, so just reach out and share the load, as this is what can happen when it’s so top down.
If scene is so well loved then, the readers should be told if its struggling, brought in to help save it, make it a campaign etc…
looking at the charity commission & companies house records, you do see new trustees, the community need to see more people, especially representative of the community as trustees / directors, rather than mates and mates of…
No one is accusing Chris of personally gaining, the loans are all listed in the accounts for everyone to see!! there are a lot of service users who rely on the income generated by pride and the community to go back into the community.
Agree RE the Smoking Ban…
SO….. finally the truth is starting to be exposed. Go back 10 years when James Ledward was running the fund and it was being milked dry then. Money being sent off to Thailand…… his friends on the payroll, his home rent being paid from the fund…..
225k for the Ledward centre which is basically a cafe? 50k for a magazine which is published only online so has no print costs……Corrupt the lot of them.
They may not be for profit but that doesn’t mean they dont pay wages. How much is Mr Gull being paid for working at these not for profit organisations….
Pride and Paul kemp also have to be asked questions as it was brought to his attention many years ago that the rainbow fund was corrupt and he continued to pump money into it. Pride needs to distribute money it’s self from now on not via the rainbow fund.
So I have just had a look at the Rainbow Fund Accounts, the key things for me are:
– Chris did not declare that he had a conflict of interest- the loans were not said publicly either
– Small charities are waiting for agreed payments because the loan has been prioritised over the payments to them
– There is no loan agreement in place
– Scene looks incapable of paying the loan back
– Chris Gull had his flights paid for by the charity- why? If they had no money then paying for his flights should not have happened
– The Rainbow Fund site says that they have ‘no administration costs’ and all fundraising/donations goes straight to charities, this is not true and the accounts show it
I don’t think Chris has benefitted financially but the processes have not been good
Another big problem with the Rainbow Fund (which is a brilliant idea and has helped so many deserving causes) is their inability to properly publicise their work. Finding out details of the grants issued isn’t easy unless you go to the Charity Commission and see their accounts. Their website – https://www.rainbow-fund.org/news/ is rarely updated.
I second that. I have contacted them on many occasions over the years, and heard nothing back.
It does seem strange that no one at BRF questioned grants and loans going to Scene knowing the position Mr Gull held with them.
Previous grants were made to Gscene in 2020 and 2021 (£31,000) but looking at the Rainbow Fund page on the Brighton Pride site is interesting – no details of any grants in 2020 and 2021 despite there being details of them in the BRF accounts seen at the Charity Commission. Better accounting skills definitely required.
My other half works with one of these charities owed money and what isn’t being shared is that it’s caused charities huge debts. The fund has been dishonest for nearly a year, and led them to believe money is coming for vital services they’ve already paid people / rent / food for.
I get there was a lot of good will setting the fund up but pride has known about this mess ages and fundraised for the mess AGAIN this year. The charity is at risk of closing – so what about their tens of volunteers and staff? It supports hundreds more than the Ledward that is also just about to closed for building work for months AGAIN that spent their money.
Pride – don’t claim to raise money for vital community groups when you’re funding your mates building project. Pay up and find a way out now.
There is also the issue of the unpaid pension contributions to the staff at the Ledward centre. Hopefully the pension ombudsman will find a resolution
Why has the Rainbow Fund facebook page made just one post since May? No thanks for people raising so much money at Pride. The only post was asking for bucket collectors at the recent Charles Street fundraiser they didn’t mention until the day of the event.
Whatever happened to the money that was raised to refit the downstairs of the Ledward centre ? Also Make your Mark crowdfunders that have been set up?
https://www.crowdfunder.co.uk/p/tlcfitout
It is Chris Gull and Rainbow Fund who are at fault not Pride. The headline is incorrect Chris Gull is not a Pride Trustee. All Pride have tried to do is raise funds and then entrusted them to Rainbow Fund, it is Rainbow Fund who have broken that trust without anyone knowing and then used the funds to prop up Ledward Centre and Gscene without paying the grants to community groups.
Well written.
I’m not going to post endlessly in this thread but many comments here have annoyed me.
I too spend half my week working hard at community stuff, for which I am not paid a penny.
1) We maybe forget how charities are run, usually with volunteers who are then tasked to make decisions or to run places when they have little experience in that sort of event or enterprise. And they/we inevitably make mistakes, more than paid professionals would. For sure, those volunteers then find themselves responsible when things go wrong – and they are probably left wondering why they bothered in the first place. In this case, mistakes have been made, but only with the best of intentions.
2) People here are already slagging off Gscene, perhaps forgetting how a local LGBTQ+ magazine is both a vital news source and a listings facility for all events and community functions. Gscene also led local campaigns, for example to get greater recognition by the police of gay bashing and homophobia, and the magazine led fundraising during the aids crisis and beyond.
How quickly some of you to seem to forget why the magazine is at least as deserving a resource or charity as all the others we are mentioning here. The Rainbow Fund itself was set up off the back of this magazine.
3) The fact that some people commenting here are now slagging off James Ledward is equally abhorrent, after all the stuff he did for the LGBTQ+ community. Did he take any of the money for personal reward? No. Did he receive an MBE or a knighthood? No.
4) The Ledward centre too, named after James, is not a business, but a community resource, and we should see how keeping that place running is of vital importance in this city. The centre has been hugely popular, and has established itself despite the covid years and the knock-on recession for our bars.
On a simple level, any LGBTQ+ person can go sit there, in a warm and safe space, and the coffee and cakes are good too. The centre also provides meeting rooms and exhibition spaces for all sorts of community groups – and provides a social life that is not linked to bars or discos.
5) I personally struggle to pay my bills nowadays and it’s no surprise to me that the Rainbow Fund has had less cash flow than expected since the covid years – and after Brexit and other inflationary causes. Why, with hindsight, are we now surprised that there was/is overspending or monetary shortfalls?
Our local council have a similar budget shortfall, but with theirs amounting to millions.
6) Some people are also using the opportunity to slag off Pride – which is easy to do, as it’s now a bit of a juggernaut and the biggest party weekend in this city. But, despite its own financial struggles through the covid lockdown years and when the Pride weekend weather is bad, they have still raised hundred of ££££thousands that go back to the community. And Pride themselves have been faultless in this latest discussion.
7) All those working for charities – paid staff or volunteers – need our support at this time. The LGBTQ+ community also needs to come together to have a reset, as a way to move on in the current economic climate. There’s a lot of goodwill that must not be trashed just because of one bump in the road.
8) For sure, all those charities promised money from the Rainbow Fund, will eventually need paying.
Billy….
You say…
On a simple level, any LGBTQ+ person can go sit there, in a warm and safe space, and the coffee and cakes are good too. The centre also provides meeting rooms and exhibition spaces for all sorts of community groups – and provides a social life that is not linked to bars or discos.
This is the same as any cafe in Brighton or hove or anywhere in the uk…..safe, warm and nice cakes…. so why do we need it more? It’s had hundreds of thousands of pounds given to it. It’s a vanity project to name something after James ledward but really it has no substance…. It’s a cafe with some empty rooms downstairs…..And its had over 300k given to it to set it up? Where has it all gone as it’s hardly spectactular??
James Ledward. Yes he did do a lot of good but he had some very dubious connections and business dealings/partners…. and more…there is a reason he was never nominated for recognition as he simply would not have passed the tests as a suitable person…. Take my word for this….more to this than meets the eye….
Billy…. trying to defend Chris giving 300k of money to two projects he is involved in when he him self has said it was a mistake does not reflect well on you.
Fingers have been in the till….it’s a fiddle. It’s corruption…. and possibly criminal….
ok, now onto the building works that this 250k for the Ledward centre is paying for…..Whos the company carrying out the works? What connection do they have to Chris? Did the ledward centre get several quotes for the work to get the best value for money and if so I think they should now publish this! We need full disclosure of what this money is being spent on and what safe guarding has gone into ensuring charity money is being well spent.
With regards to pride not being involved in this I can 100% guarantee it has been brought to Paul kemps attention that the rainbow fund was corrupt and had been embezzling funds for over a decade. I sat in meetings with him where it was brought to his attention.
I now think the ledward centre needs to publish full accounts on where this money is going, how it’s being spent, how the tendering process for the works was carried out. Scene need to give back any money they have in the account left over and close as the figures clearly show its not viable. When James ledward run it it was commercially viable, it had a local connection and was an asset. Now it publishes cartoons? He would turn in his grave if he saw the content today.
Haha… look at old Billy Boy getting in a flap trying to cover for Gull.. we all know you are on his payroll…. Not paid a penny, but you do get paid by Ledward Centre ….. Can you explain to us what happened to the crowdfunding money that was set up for the re fitting of the downstairs of the Ledward Centre ? The 41k ?? And why nothing has materialised?
This is not a ‘mistake’ , and please don’t assume just because people are volunteers that they don’t have the wherewithall to do things properly, and above all act morally. Which is not the case here. ‘Done with best intentions’ is a totally inadequate response. What has happened here hundreds of thousands have been syphoned off that were promised to groups, stop making excuses for the person that did that.
‘Syphoned off’ ? I’ll make a note of that, and we’ll have to see what the charity commission say.
In the meantime, I think of a family of six sat around a table, and there’s only enough food to feed four, despite the parents’ earlier promises of a feast for all.
Why am I not surprised?
Disclosure….
I note there is a person named billy commenting on this thread defending the Ledward Centre, Chris gull and the scene magazine. Defending with passion….interesting…
If you type ‘Billy Lewis Ledward Centre’ into google it will bring up he was a former director of the Ledward Centre. He also used GScenes office to run his own business and has a limited company listed at the office address of Gscene….
More coruption.
This is all public information type name into google and it will bring up all the listings on companies house website. Billy you should have declared this in your posts as they now now misleading.
Hi Mike, Billy Short and Billie Lewis are definitely not the same person.
Yes, they are
Billy Short is a long time commenter not just on this site but also on Facebook, where he also posts lots of pictures, including of himself. He looks nothing like Billie Lewis. If they are the same person, then it’s an incredibly sophisticated, long-term project to set up a fake persona just to comment on this story which he’d have had no idea would be published when it was set up more than a decade ago.
Billy sounds like you’re protecting a mate – are you involved in any of these charities?
The tone is defensive and unfactual
Ledward centre raised 49k in a crowdfunder, for an alleged fit out of the downstairs, has this actually materialised?
Where has the 49k gone??
https://www.crowdfunder.co.uk/p/tlcfitout
Just to clarify: I am posting under my own name.
I do not work for any of the charities or businesses mentioned or involved here.
I do sometimes have a coffee and cake in the Ledward centre, but I don’t actually know anybody who works there.
My friend Stella sometime volunteers as a photographer there.
I have in the past supplied photographs to Gscene magazine, under James Ledward’s tenure, and when he was getting less mobile, but those photos were given for free.
I used to be the staff photographer and an editor for Gay Times magazine (many decades ago), and I have taken pictures for Brighton Pride over several years, as a volunteer and always unpaid.
Hence why you are defending Gull?
What happened to the 49k ?
Care to explain…. Thought not …
Hi Dan, I seem to be getting dragged into stuff I know little about here, but I will try and answer your questions from my own point of view:
1) I am defending Chris simply as the kind and genuine man I have met on several occasions, and as a campaigner who has done a lot as a community leader in my/our LGBTQ+ network. I would defend many other community figures in the same way, be they ‘Pride Veterans’, or drag queen living legends like Maisie, Lola, Dave Lynn etc – or indeed those who have passed, like Miss Jason, James Ledward, or Graham Wilkinson (to name but a few). I see that James Ledward is being slagged off by some here, and I think that’s pretty disrespectful, after all that he did. For sure, no one is perfect, and in my life we don’t take against someone because of their one or two mistakes or flaws. I also note that the ones who are quick to criticise nowadays have often done FA themselves. Seems to me that we either believe in community, or else we don’t.
2) I see from the article that Chris Gul is now 73, and that means he’s been working for free as a volunteer for the best part of ten years – since he retired from his former profession as a dentist. Some of my former flatmates were his clients. They came home with happy stories and shiny teeth. I’m no official Pride Veteran myself, but my first London Gay Pride march was in the mid 1970s. I moved to Brighton as a student in 1974 and was soon a volunteer at the newly set up Brighton Gay Switchboard, back then housed above a veggie cafe in Victoria road. I was also involved in the Tony Whitehead BHS demonstrations of 1976, which younger readers can google, and later in the Anti Nazi League. As a member of CHE we also campaigned against Mary Whitehouse, and her bigoted Festival of Light. As a journalist and freelance photographer, my first job was with the original gay newspaper, Gay News. In another life, I was also the manager of a major gay club from the 80s/90s era, and that was called Bolts. In the next decade, I’d say that 30% of my friends died from AIDS, and that was something we all had to deal with, and still are… At the time, we campaigned over health issues and access to proper medical care, just as we campaigned for an equal age of consent and for civil partnerships, and later for marriage equality. I was in Outrage! and Act-Up. I was in South Africa with Ian McKellen for his fundraising and AIDS awareness tour.
And so with that background, I am of course going to support the other LGBTQ+ people from my generation, and it’s galling to see the shit we get sometimes. Above all, people online would rather create a drama, or fake news, than to find out the facts.
3) You ask about a ‘£49K’ figure and I had no idea what this amount referred to until I read the other comments and then did a bit of research. The Crowdfunder mentioned was in fact one I contributed to, and apparently I should have a tile with my name on it to go on the wall – and which I have been invited to make three times – but I was happy just to make my donation to the centre like anyone else, and pleased to see the place open as a new community asset.
The Ledward Centre in fact announced on October 15th, on their Facebook page, that the planning permission has finally come through for changes to the lower floors of the building, and I understand that the conversion work is due to start at the end of next month, or early in December. As a working builder myself, I appreciate these things take time, and that initial budgets may not be enough once the work finally starts. My goodwill towards the place means I would/will give more money, should they need that. Modern health and safety rules mean that we can’t nowadays just all muck in – perhaps with a paintbrush in hand.
4) Let me also make clear, that I want to see the charities and community projects who were promised funding via the Rainbow Fund, get that money.
5) This sort of discussion should probably be happening over at Gscene. And that’s why we still need local LGBTQ+ magazines like that, whether printed or online. The problem now is that print media is in serious decline, and fake news, generating hits, has taken over from the truth – or from any balanced discussion when a problem arises.
Giving a loan knowing that the company does not have the ability to currently or in the future repay is fraud as you knew the loan could not be repaid. Gscene makes a loss year after year. It’s not possible they will ever be able to repay this loan. This was not a loan it was given knowing full well the loan could not be repaid….Also known as theft…
Thank you to Brighton and hove news for finally exposing what everyone in the community knew was going on for many years.
Gscene was a valuable asset when James Ledward ran it. That’s not the case now, it still has a use but doesn’t deserve having such funds being loaned or grants made as has been the case since it stopped being in our venues.
Why did Gscene publish lies about Brighton Gems being a “safe and friendly environment for gay men over fifty to meet and make friends” when they knew full well that it was the exact opposite???
Jo Wadsworth, you are obviously moderating this because you commented earlier (thanks). This thread and my 2 emails to you have asked you to correct your headline. Chris Gull is not a Pride trustee. It is wrong and misleading to say so.
https://www.gscene.com/news/gay-news/ – Tuesday 22nd October – three of the top five stories are about Finland, Georgia and Russia. They should pay that loan back now or be told to cover Brighton not the whole of the world!
Chris Gull…. ‘I need my flights paid for’
Scene staff ‘Sorry Chris there’s no money in the pot to pay for this, we run at a loss…’
Chris Gull…. ‘Heres 50k from the rainbow fund that should cover my flights….’
Gscene need to repay the loan. Now. I agree with the above post the money being spent on the Ledward Centre needs to be investigated, possibly by the police. Giving a ‘loan’ knowing it can not ever be repaid is fraud.
How long do Scene have to pay back the loan? What is the value of the grants that are yet to be paid to groups and why haven’t they been made? Why was the loan made to Scene when others at the BRF knew Gull’s position with them? How much was raised at the recent Charles Street fundraiser? Why aren’t all the details of previous grants on the BRF website? Lots of questions to be answered.
Billy:
You said: “Gscene also led local campaigns, for example to get greater recognition by the police of gay bashing and homophobia, and the magazine led fundraising during the aids crisis and beyond.” Which was true.
Yet recently this year a gay man was murdered in Kemptown. He was stabbed multiple times in the chest. The accused formerly worked at the LGBT Safety forum.
It was reported in the Argus, the Brighton and Hove News, even the BBC website. Yet Gscene failed to mention it. The murder of a gay man in Kemptown was ignored.
Have you any idea why? I’ll tell you: the accused was a man who wore a dress. And therefore the reporting of this murder of this particular gay man was verboten.
Do you see any problem in Gscene ignoring this murder? And what it says about how the death of a gay man had to be suppressed in the name of equality.
It’s noticeable that many times the general press in this city report LGBTQ+ news before Scene do. Perhaps the Rainbow Fund should give them a grant.