Two people arrested after breaking into London’s iconic gay and lesbian bookshop Gay’s the Word
The people have been arrested according to the shop's Twitter account
By Steve Brown
Words: Steve Brown
London’s iconic gay and lesbian bookshop Gay’s the Word was broken into over the weekend.
Nestled on Marchmont Street in Bloomsbury, London, Gay’s the Word was founded in 1979 by Ernest Hole, who was inspired after a visit to New York’s Oscar Wilde Bookshop, which was devoted entirely to LGBTQ authors.
The small bookshop has gone through years and years of trouble and in 2018, one of the window’s was smashed.
And over the weekend, the Twitter account for the shop – which was awarded an Attitude Pride Award in 2018 – revealed some people had broken into the store but they have thankfully been arrested.
The tweet read: “Hi everyone. Thought someone had kicked in the window but it was an actual break in.
Hi everyone. Thought someone had kicked in the window but it was an actual break in. Guys have been arrested. Shop in a bit of a mess. Getting ready to clear up. We may open later today – depends on police. At least it’s not a hate crime.
— Gay’s The Word (@gaystheword) February 9, 2020
“Guys have been arrested. Shop in a bit of a mess. Getting ready to clear up.
“We may open later today – depends on police. At least it’s not a hate crime.”
Posting images on Instagram, the shop revealed two people have been arrested but said it was not a homophobic attack.
They wrote: “Hi everyone. We got broken into last night, so the bookshop will probably be closed for the day until the police can re-visit for evidence.
“The good news: no one was hurt, nothing was taken, two arrests have been made, and it doesn’t appear to be homophobic attack.
“The shop itself is in a bit of a state, but we’ll proudly re-open as soon as it’s possible.
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Hear about the incredible history of Gay’s the Word below: