“As a British Asian, as a British Muslim, I know what it’s like to be part of a minority. But minorities have since the beginning of time been woven into the fabric of this borough – and what makes us special is how we stand together and speak up for one another.”

Lutfur Rahman celebrates yesterday’s East London Gay Pride march.

I’m not sure it was a good idea for Lutfur to give Peter Tatchell a boost, though. Rainbow Hamlets regard Tatchell as a disruptive tosser, and while they may not be right about everything they’re certainly right about that.

Tatchell was interviewed on the march by BBC News. Asked about Mohammed Hasnath and the “Gay Free Zone” stickers, he replied: “I’m not sure the guy who did the stickers should have been prosecuted. I take a very strong free speech line.”

Yes, really. While almost everyone in the East End, from Rainbow Hamlets to the East London Mosque, complained that the small fine imposed on Hasnath was an inadequate punishment for the crime he had committed, Tatchell takes the view that Hasnath shouldn’t have been charged with an offence at all.