Gay couple robbed, kicked and pushed into traffic in homophobic attack in Edinburgh

In another of a worrying spate of homophobic attacks in the UK, a gay couple has been attacked on Leith Street in Edinburgh on Friday July 30.

The male couple in their 30s who have not been named were on the receiving end of homophobic slurs as well as getting robbed of their bag, punched, spat on and kicked before one of them was pushed in the road into the path of an oncoming car. 

In the unprovoked attacks which happened around 9.20pm, a witness said: ‘The gay men did not fight back, they only tried to defend themselves. The boys were laughing, egging each other on and calling the victims p**fs. Another girl [at the scene] heard them say p**fs explicitly. The victim came straight over, thanked me and I asked if he was okay. There was blood on the ground. He burst into tears and I held him as he sobbed so hard into my chest. He told me he did not know why they did it to him.’

It is thought that the couple, who are married, were not seriously injured but City of Edinburgh Council leader Adam McVey has called for the public to speak out against homophobia in the city as this wasn’t an isolated incident, saying: ‘Edinburgh is a proud and safe city, but this should worry us all. This isn’t the first violent, homophobic attack this year, my thoughts are with the victims this morning.’