It was like the plagues of Egypt had descended on the LGB Alliance conference when ‘thousands’ of crickets were released in London today.
Harry Potter author JK Rowling had earlier addressed the gender-critical group via video message during the gathering at the Queen Elizabeth II Centre on Friday.
Attendees cheered when she declared: ‘Lesbians don’t have penises.’
Then came the crickets. Pictures and videos shared on social media show the insects crawling over chairs and being scooped from the floor later in the day.
‘Just kill the bugger’, a speaker could be heard telling the audience as people laughed. The charity’s boss later called the incident ‘distressing’.
Pro-trans activists had released the crickets from bags, according to Trans Kids Deserve Better, which claimed responsibility.
The campaign group said the roughly 6,000 insects, which ‘do not infest and pose no danger to humans’, were intended to end the conference early.
Described by trans rights activists as transphobic, LGB Alliance says it supports the rights of lesbian, gay and bisexual people, which it claims are threatened by ‘gender ideology’.
It opposes medical transition, including hormone therapy and puberty blockers, for young people, along with self-identification, which it says threatens the safety of women-only spaces.
A spokesperson for Trans Kids Deserve Better said: ‘It makes me really angry to see trans kids being talked about like a bunch of brainless children who can’t make decisions for or speak for themselves.
‘I’m sick of having our voices taken away by bigoted people like the LGBA who speak over us instead of listening.
‘Whilst we, the trans community, cobble together what little support we can to keep each other safe, this group claiming to stand for social progress spends hundreds of thousands of pounds annually to keep us down. We are trans kids, we are loved, and we deserve dignity.
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‘They may try to ‘sound the alarm’ on trans youth accessing life-saving healthcare but we cannot and will not let them. Trans youth are powerful and we will let them f***ing know it.’
Kate Barker, chief executive of the LGB Alliance, formed in 2019, said: ‘It was distressing to see thousands of insects killed for the sole purpose of trying to disrupt the UK’s only conference for same-sex attracted people
‘This attempted sabotage speaks volumes about our opponents.
‘For years, gender identity ideologists have infested the LGB movement, bullying and silencing anyone who disagrees with them.
‘It’s especially sad that the perpetrators don’t seem to realise that the men and women gathered here today fought for their right to be gay, lesbian and bisexual.
‘This has only brought us together and made us more determined to fight against the renewed rise of homophobia, which is all the more dangerous for coming wrapped in the rainbow flag.’
Some of the six pro-trans activists fled while security detained the others and escorted them from the premises.
No arrests have been made, according to police, who are investigating the incident.
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