OutRage! warns Tesco over ‘jumping on gay bandwagon’

Tesco’s plan to roll out a gay-friendly motor insurance policy has been met with scepticism by pressure group OutRage!.

The retailer will offer discounts to same-sex couples to bring charges in line with those for married couples. But the move has been questioned by gay human rights organisation OutRage!, which has warned the supermarket against “jumping on the bandwagon”.

In a statement, Tesco says it is “calling on every motor insurer to take notice of the forthcoming Civil Partnerships Act”, which will provide same-sex couples with the same treatment as heterosexual couples across a range of legal matters.

But OutRage! spokesman Peter Tatchell says: “It’s good that Tesco is recognising the needs of lesbian and gay people with regard to motor insurance. However, I can’t recall it making a pitch to the gay community until now, and I hope it just isn’t an opportunistic attempt to jump on the bandwagon of the new laws.”

Tatchell points out that Tesco was found wanting with regard to the inclusion of gay rights in its equal opportunities rules when OutRage! carried out a survey in the 1990s. He adds: “We would hope it will now adopt its motor insurance stance across its whole range of products.”

Tesco was unavailable for comment, but its equal opportunities and diversity policy states it aims to “manage people openly, honestly and fairly… irrespective of… sexual orientation”.