Volunteers at National Trust ordered to wear gay pride badges at work – or face backroom chores

THE National Trust is at the centre of a new political correctness storm after hundreds of ­volunteers were ordered to wear gay pride badges at work.

Around 350 unpaid assistants were warned if they refused they would be forced to do backroom chores at ­Norfolk mansion Felbrigg Hall.

Last month the trust faced a backlash when it “outed” Robert Wyndham Ketton-Cremer, the squire who gave them the hall after his death in 1969.

It is understood that at least 10 volunteers have refused to wear the rainbow emblem.

They include Mike Holmes, 72, who has volunteered for 13 years.

He denied the revolt was homophobic, adding: “Wyndham would have turned in his grave to know what’s happening.

“He was an intensely private man.

“He was never open about his sex­uality.

“The National Trust do not have the right to research their benefactors’ private lives to suit the needs of a marketing campaign.”

Annabel Smith, the trust’s head of volunteering, said: “Whilst volunteering for the National Trust we do request and expect individuals to uphold the values of the organisation.”