Tower Hamlets accused of targeting queer and fetish parties

Two of London’s best-known kink and fetish club nights, Crossbreed & Klub Verboten, have been threatened with legal action if they continue to host parties.

In an investigation led by VICE, Klub Verboten creator Karl Verboten says that Tower Hamlets Council contacted the organisers of both parties, requesting that they “prohibit nudity and semi-nudity in safeguarded venues.”

Both Crossbreed & Klub Verboten are renowned for their sex-positive, LGBTQ-friendly audiences. The two parties feature electronic music – mostly techno at Verboten – and a BDSM dungeon and playroom where consenting people may explore sexual encounters with other guests at London venues.

What were once places of sanctuary for many queer people have now become the target of the East London council – who stand accused of implementing “archaic laws.”

According to this BBC article, in the United Kingdom, public nudity isn’t a crime, but “it does become an offence if it can be proved the person stripped off with the intention to upset and shock”.

That said, local governments have control over licensed establishments and have the right to prescribe and influence the conditions of business conducted there.