THE organiser of a Pride event taking place this weekend has told critics that they will “look like idiots” if they protest against its sponsorship by a company that sells arms to homophobic regimes.

Stephen Ireland, 35, told demonstrators not to “cause trouble” and said he was “thrilled” that weapons manufacturer BAE Systems was the main sponsor of this weekend’s debut Pride in Surrey event in Woking.

He refuses to say how much money the bomb-maker is giving towards the gay rights march, though the company has previously boasted of an £11 million “community investment” war chest to help sponsor such events.

The funding of the event has also heightened accusations that Pride is enabling the “pinkwashing” of arms companies such as BAE.

Anti-war activists slammed Mr Ireland’s comments as “outrageous” and over 5,000 people have signed a petition calling on Surrey Pride to “drop BAE Systems as a sponsor.”

Signatories are also demanding a formal apology and commitment “never to accept money from any who benefit from arming oppressive governments.”

BAE’s arms sales to the homophobic regime in Saudi Arabia have led many to pillory the company’s claim that it cares about gay rights.

Five gay men were reportedly beheaded by Saudi officials this April.

Campaign Against Arms Trade (CAAT) said that BAE’s Typhoon and Tornado aircraft “have been central to Saudi Arabia’s devastating attacks on Yemen — attacks that have killed thousands and created a humanitarian disaster.”

CAAT public campaign co-ordinator Caroline Jones said: “We cannot allow BAE to use Pride to sanitise its image and divert attention away from its role in fuelling conflict and oppression.”

According to its latest accounts, the company’s sales to Saudi Arabia were worth more than £2.5 billion last year.

The company also has close connections with the military in Brunei, a country whose dictator recently threatened to implement the stoning of gay men to death before international outcry forced him to back down.

Symon Hill from the Peace Pledge Union told the Morning Star that BAE had already sponsored Pride events in Blackpool and Portsmouth this year and the company appeared to be “targeting” gay rights events.

Mr Hill said attempts to portray critics as troublemakers were “outrageous.”

He accused BAE of seeking to “pinkwash their image even while arming and training the forces of Saudi Arabia, where LGBTQ people are routinely locked up, tortured and killed.”

The Bisexual Convention (BiCon) voted overwhelmingly last Saturday to rule out arms industry sponsorship.

BiCon attendees voted to add a clause to their guidelines declaring: “No financial partnership shall be entered into with arms companies or armed forces.”

And Lesbian magazine Diva has dropped BAE from an awards shortlist after criticism by the anti-war movement.

But a spokeswoman from BAE Systems defended the sponsorship deal.

She said: “Our sponsorship of Pride in Surrey underpins our long-term commitment to drive greater diversity in our workforce, reflecting the communities in which we work.

“We employ more than 34,000 talented and dedicated employees in the UK who are proud of the valuable contribution they make to the nation’s security and defence.

“We welcome the opportunity this event provides to demonstrate our support to our LGBT employee community and our commitment to being an inclusive organisation.”