Boss Of London Pride Is Sacked After Spending £7,000 Of Donations On Luxury Perfumes And Apple Products

The boss of Pride in London, one of the world’s largest Pride events, has been sacked following an investigation into allegations of financial misconduct and bullying.

Despite being on a salary of £87,500 per annum, Christopher Joell-Deshields nicked £7,125 of donations to spend on perfumes and Apple products.

The donations were given to London LGBT Community Pride by corporate sponsors in the form of vouchers that were supposed to be used as raffle prizes and gifts for volunteers.

Whistleblowers also alleged a “toxic” and “bullying culture” within the organisation, including claims of inappropriate messages sent to a disabled volunteer.

Following a seven-month suspension (in which he was paid his full salary) Joell-Deshields was sacked this week. His appeal against the decision was rejected by an independent council.

However, he remains in a legal dispute with Pride after allegedly failing to return company property, including access to bank accounts and internal systems. What’s wrong with this guy?

Imagine – being on £87k and risking it all for £7k worth of perfume and Apple products. He must have been so sure he wouldn’t get caught, or just couldn’t resist the thrill of it.

I know he headed a prominent LGBT organisation, but you’ve still got to be on the straight and narrow when it comes to the financial side of things. Amazing how many of these people sneak into positions of power where they’re able to steal money like this, and particularly in the charity and non-profit sector.

Pride is expected to go ahead as normal in July. The event costs upwards of £1million to run each year, largely funded by corporate sponsors and an annual £125,000 grant from the Greater London Authority.

For the man who was charged with a hate crime for doing a ‘burnout’ on an LGBT Pride crossing, click HERE.