No prayers for Paddick in Brixton

The Good Friday congregation came to say a prayer for Brixton, but there was no pledge of support offered for Brian Paddick, Lambeth's controversial commander. Every year people from 40 churches in Brixton take part in a "walk of witness" to celebrate the holiest day in the Christian calendar.

Founded in the aftermath of the 1981 riots, Churches Together in Brixton (CTIB) organises the open-air Easter service in Windrush Square.

But this year was different. As Chris Andre Watson, pastor of Brixton baptist church, told the congregation, the community had been in the headlines over the last two weeks and not much of the coverage had been positive. "This area is tough. It's a difficult place to police but unhelpful policing can make the situation worse," he said.

Early last week, jokey references to Mr Paddick's Monty Python namesake – "Brian's not a very naughty boy, he's the messiah" – appeared on posters at a public meeting calling for the commander's reinstatement. These references would not have gone down well with worshippers in Brixton who may feel that Mr Paddick has been badly treated but who do not support his methods. "The more conservative members of our community, would be happy to see Paddick go," said Pastor Watson.

But many appear to disagree with this view. More than 1,000 supporters have signed a petition calling for the reinstatement of Brian Paddick, Britain's most senior openly gay police officer.

This week the document will be formally handed to Sir John Stevens, the Commissioner of the Metropolitan Police, at Scotland Yard. An influential committee of MPs is also planning to back Mr Paddick, creator of Lambeth's pilot cannabis project.

The Home Affairs select committee is considering including his controversial views in its review of Britain's drug laws. Its report is expected to be published next month.

From senior government ministers to the residents of Brixton, support has poured in for the Lambeth commander, who has now been moved to a desk job after lurid allegations were published about his private life in a newspaper.

Last week it was announced that a senior officer from the Humberside force would lead the investigation into claims by Mr Paddick's former lover. The man said that the Met Commander smoked cannabis.

Gordon Clark, deputy chief constable, will hold a meeting with the Police Complaints Authority this week to prepare for the inquiry, which is expected to take six months. However, supporters want Mr Paddick reinstated immediately instead of at the end of the inquiry.

Last week the former Lambeth commander, who denies these allegations by his former lover James Renolleau, makes a brief appearance before a packed audience at Lambeth town hall. This was the venue for a special meeting, organised by Lambeth's community police consultative group, in support of his reinstatement as chief of policing in the borough.

Over the next few weeks, the Big Issue newspaper is publishing a series of articles and leaflets also supporting Mr Paddick's reinstatement. A special site has also been dedicated to the senior officer by Urban.75, the website that he used to voice his controversial views about policing.

Meanwhile, the Lambeth Green Party has helped organise the petition which will be presented to the Metropolitan Commissioner on Saturday. A spokesman said the interest in Brian Paddick's case and his work on policing cannabis in Lambeth had now attracted worldwide interest.

This includes support from a Washington- based lobbying group whose members include lawyers and activists called the National Organisation for Reform on Marijuana Laws. The Green Party has also received numerous emails from lobbying groups in Canada where experts are collaborating with Britain on cannabis-based treatments for MS sufferers.

"Everyone all over the world is now watching Brixton," added the spokesman. "Brian Paddick knew he never had a long-term future, so he is just trying to go out in a blaze of glory. He has been made a scapegoat, and we want him reinstated."