Joell-Deshields Faces Contempt Charge In UK
Christopher Joell-Deshields, suspended CEO of Pride in London, has been accused of allegedly not “handing back the company’s usernames, passwords and personal identification numbers.”
A BBC story said, “The suspended boss of Pride in London has ‘frustrated’ a disciplinary investigation into alleged theft and bullying by refusing to hand back control of company bank accounts and systems, court documents allege.
“Christopher Joell-Deshields appeared at London’s High Court on Tuesday accused of not handing back the company’s ‘usernames, passwords and personal identification numbers’.
“Court papers seen by the BBC show Pride in London’s lawyers accuse him of trying to prevent ‘the full extent of his actions becoming apparent’.
“The 55-year-old denied one ground of failing to hand over the accounts, but admitted to a second ground of failing to submit a statement verifying he had complied with the order.
“In September 2025, London LGBT Community Pride CIC obtained an injunction against the 55-year-old, who is suspended from his role as CEO while a disciplinary investigation continues, which required him to hand back company devices, access to bank accounts and social media profiles.
“Lawyers for the organisation, which puts on one of the UK’s largest annual pride events, accused Joell-Deshields of two counts of contempt of court for failing to comply with the order.
“Dr John Brown, representing Joell-Deshields, said his client would contest the claim he had not returned all that was required, but accepted he had not complied with the requirement to provide a witness statement verifying he had returned the property.”
A Guardian story said, “Christopher Joell-Deshields, who is suspended from his role as chief executive of Pride in London after claims of impropriety including misuse of funds, appeared at the high court on Tuesday to answer to two grounds of contempt of court.
“A substantive hearing date was set for the first available date after 10 February by the deputy judge, Tim Maloney KC.
“London LGBT Community Pride CIC, the organisation behind the parade, obtained an injunction in September against Joell-Deshields, who is under internal investigation.
“The injunction, to which Joell-Deshields agreed at a hearing, ordered him to hand over a laptop and “all usernames, passwords, personal identification numbers and other information” relating to Pride’s bank accounts, social media profiles and other administrative tools.
“He was also required to provide a sworn witness statement verifying that he had complied with the court order.
“Pride London claimed Joell-Deshields had been seeking to withhold property in an attempt to cover up ‘the full extent of his actions becoming apparent to the disciplinary investigator’, according to a legal claim. He denies the allegations.”
You can read the full stories here on BBC and The Guardian.
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