An internal investigation has been launched into Pride in London’s chief executive over a series of allegations that he abused his position, including by misappropriating company funds and bullying personnel.
Christopher Joell-Deshields, who has been chief executive of Pride in London since 2021, is subject to claims from a formal whistleblowing disclosure received by The Guardian from a group of volunteer directors.
These include allegations of misappropriation or misuse of gifts or company funds, behaviour damaging or potentially damaging to the company’s reputation, harassment or bullying of personnel and a “serious breach” of bullying, harassment and finance policies.
The group allege that Mr Joell-Deshields bought luxury perfumes with food and drink vouchers that were donated by an unnamed sponsor, with around £30,000 worth of food and drink vouchers potentially misused, according to a leaked copy of the disclosure.
The voluntary directors alleged that the sponsor’s head of ethics and compliance had written in February to the legal director at Pride in London to warn that the company’s fraud system had detected that two accounts had used £7,125 of the vouchers on luxury items, including an Apple HomePod, Aipple Airpods, and a number of designer fragrances including Creed Aventus, which costs at least £165, and Burberry Hero, which starts at £118 a bottle.
One of the two accounts flagged was that of Mr Joell-Deshields. Pride in London commissioned external lawyers to investigate, according to the directors’ letter, and an interim report was written, The Guardian reported.
According to the letter, the report states that Mr Joell-Deshields said that the vouchers were used for gifts and prizes for raffles and that the HomePod was used in the office and at “pop up” events; the volunteer directs claimed no raffles took place last year and they received no evidence of the unopened and unused items. They also claimed never to have seen the HomePod in the office.
Sources told The Guardian that Mr Joell-Deshields was suspended from his role as chief executive by a newly constituted board of London LGBT Community Pride, the community interest company behind the parade.
The Independent received a statement from Pride in London on Wednesday, which read: “Christopher Joell-Deshields remains as chief executive officer of Pride in London and director of London LGBT Community Pride CIC.
“Any matters requiring investigation will be handled appropriately through proper channels. The organisation remains committed to serving the LGBTQ+ community and our operations continue steadily.”
However, it is understood this statement was not authorised by the organisation’s board of directors, who instead sent a separate statement to The Independent.
“The board of directors is aware of a number of allegations and is taking action to investigate these claims”, the statement read.
“We are not in a position to comment further while these investigations are taking place, save to say that we take such allegations extremely seriously, and remain committed to upholding a safe, open and inclusive organisation that is compliant with its legal and governance obligations.”
Earlier this year The Independent reported that pride organisers across the country had marked a critical fall in corporate sponsorship. Some 75 per cent of Pride events across the UK recorded a decline in corporate sponsorships in 2025, with a quarter experiencing funding drops of more than 50 per cent.
Pride events across the country receive a bulk of funding from big businesses, varying on a scale of a minimum of 50 per cent, to events like Pride in London, where approximately 95 per cent of the funding comes from corporate partnerships.
Pride in London received up to £625,000 from City Hall in 2022 to help them deliver the capital's LGBTQI+ celebrations from 2023 to 2027.
The Independent has approached Mr Joell-Deshields for comment. He told The Guardian in a statement: “I remain in my role as CEO of Pride in London and as a director of London LGBT Community Pride CIC.
“The current legal and governance matters relate to the organisation itself. These matters are being addressed through the appropriate channels, and it would be inappropriate to litigate them in the press.
“Nothing in this statement should be interpreted as an admission of any allegation, nor does it comment on any other individual. For that reason, I will not be making any further comment at this time.”
