Catalogue Number
NMLH.2022.371.45
Object Name
Badge
Title
Countdown on Spanner
People
Countdown on Spanner
Events
Operation Spanner
Description
Round white badge, reading "Countdown on Spanner" with an image of two hands breaking a spanner in half.
Operation Spanner was a criminal investigation into same-sex male sadomasochism, led by Londonâs Metropolitan Police. For three years from 1987, approximately 100 men were questioned by the police, resulting in 43 men named in the final report. 16 men were convicted for charges such as actual bodily harm or unlawful wounding, relating to consensual, private sadomasochistic sex between 1978 and 1987. Two activist groups, Countdown on Spanner and the Sexual Freedom Coalition, were formed to protest the charges and support the men affected.
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