Michael Salter-Church

Michael Salter-Church

Michael Salter-Church MBE, known as Michael Salter before his marriage, is a British communications executive and campaigner. He was senior broadcast adviser and principal adviser on LGBT issues to the Prime Minister David Cameron, and founded the community interest company that has organised London Pride since 2013.

Early career and Downing Street

Salter-Church read European Studies at Durham University and worked in corporate banking and communications at NatWest and Dresdner Kleinwort Wasserstein before joining the Conservative Party press office in 2001. He became the party's head of broadcasting in 2003, and from May 2010 was political head of broadcasting at 10 Downing Street, serving as senior broadcast adviser to David Cameron until 2015. In addition to that role he advised the Conservative Party on gay issues.

He was among the most senior openly gay advisers in the Cameron government, and was the Prime Minister's principal adviser on LGBT issues, leading the government's work on the introduction of same-sex marriage.

In March 2010, in the run-up to the general election, he wrote to broadcasters asking that they refer to the party as Conservatives rather than Tories, acknowledging that both terms would always be used but suggesting that reports might remember the former.

Pride in London

Following the widely criticised scaling back of WorldPride in London in 2012, Salter-Church founded the community interest company London LGBT Community Pride, formed in December 2012, which bid for and won the right to run the capital's Pride event. The company was awarded the contract by the Mayor of London in January 2013 and operates as Pride in London.

He co-chaired the organisation for some nine years, latterly alongside Alison Camps, during which the event grew to become one of the largest annual events in London. He accepted the Queen's Award for Voluntary Service on behalf of its volunteers.

Resignation, 2021

In March 2021 Rhammel Afflick, the organisation's director of communications and one of its most senior Black volunteers, resigned, saying he had lost confidence in the leadership's willingness to address racism and other forms of discrimination. All ten members of the community advisory board, the body established in 2012 to scrutinise the organisation's inclusivity, then resigned, describing a hostile environment for Black volunteers and volunteers of colour, and stating that Pride in London had failed to safeguard volunteers or introduce a formal complaints procedure. The immediate context included the organisation's decision to allow the Metropolitan Police to apply to march in the parade.

DIVA magazine withdrew its support from the event and called publicly for Salter-Church's resignation. On 19 March 2021 five directors, including both co-chairs, resigned with immediate effect; the organisation said the changes were being made to allow new voices and greater diversity, and Christopher Joell-Deshields became interim co-chair. Pride in London issued an apology in May 2021 and committed itself to becoming an anti-racist organisation. An independent investigation made critical recommendations, but its report was not published, prompting an open letter co-ordinated by Peter Tatchell calling on the Mayor of London to intervene.

Later roles

Salter-Church subsequently led public affairs at J Sainsbury plc and became director of external affairs, policy and sustainability at Openreach, where he sponsored the company's LGBT employee network. He is an elected member of the Council of the National Trust and has served on committees for Action for Children, the Terrence Higgins Trust and National Student Pride. In August 2022 he was appointed chair of the Horniman Museum and Gardens, and was reappointed for a further term in 2026.

He lives in south London with his husband, Rob Church.

Recognition

Salter-Church was appointed MBE for public service in the 2015 Dissolution Honours, as lately head of political broadcast at 10 Downing Street.

He appeared in the Independent on Sunday's Pink List in several years, reaching second place in the Pink List 2011, and was ranked 53rd in the World Pride Power List 2012.