LBC host left baffled after caller suggests gay police officers shouldn’t be on the frontline
LBC’s Tom Swarbrick was left stunned on Monday (12 August) after a caller called David said gay police officers shouldn’t be allowed “on the frontline”.
The segment was dedicated to the recent far-right riots across the UK, with radio presenter Swarbrick asking listeners how they would improve the police response.
Immediately after David’s homophobic suggestion, the host can be seen looking stunned, in a clip shared on the LBC X/Twitter account, and interrupting him to say: “Wait, what?”
“You wouldn’t put a gay police officer on to frontline service?” Swarbrick asked, to which David responded “No.”
'I wouldn't put a gay policeman on the frontline… with gay men being softer than straight guys.'
— LBC (@LBC) August 12, 2024
'You're talking absolute nonsense!'
@TomSwarbrick1 is baffled by caller David's vision for how to improve the police service, in light of recent riots. pic.twitter.com/OagpnALL4r
When asked why, the caller said gay guys were “softer,” to which a visibly stunned Swarbrick, who hosts a show between 4pm and 7pm on weekdays, asked: “How do you know that all gay guys are softer than straight guys?”
Seemingly realising the hole he was now digging himself into, David picked his verbal shovel back up, adding that not “all gay guys are softer” but that he was speaking in “general terms”.
David appeared to be playing into an unwarranted stereotype that gay and queer men are somehow more effeminate or “softer” than straight men.
Swarbrick told David he was “speaking nonsense,” adding: “This guy, right, he is six-foot three, built like a brick house, and he’s, massive. He also happens to be gay, are you gonna put him on the frontline or not?”
When the caller admitted that he would, Swarbrick – a former advisor to Theresa May when she was prime minister, responded: “Right, so you’ve undermined your policy. Day one.”
A now-flustered David then said: “You don’t get many gay guys who are six-foot three, do you?” to which Swarbrick answered: “Why not? Why wouldn’t you get many gay guys who are 6 foot three? To be fair, you don’t get many guys who are six-foot three because it’s not the average height, is it?”
Users on social media were left as confused as Swarbrick over what exactly David’s point was, other than to be homophobic, with one user responding: “What in the what now?”
Another person said: “I’ve trained with gay guys in MMA [mixed martial arts] classes, they could beat the brakes off that caller.”
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