Police officers should not be allowed to take part in the Gay Pride boat parade in uniform, according to the fundamentalist Protestant party SGP, which has three seats in the Dutch parliament.

Speaking during a debate on the diversity of the Dutch police force, MP Roelof Bisschop said the police boat during Gay Pride is ‘inappropriate’ given the police are not supposed to visibly supposed to express support for ‘whatever lifestyle’.

The SGP believes the Netherlands should be governed ‘entirely on the basis of the ordinances of God as revealed in the Holy Scriptures’, does not accept homosexuality and opposes gay marriage.

Acting home affairs minister Stef Blok said during the police officers are free to join a celebration such as Gay Pride. This, however, does not mean they can walk around with a pink triangle on their uniform, he said.

The national police force has a special unit, Roze in Blauw (pink in blue), which acts as a focal point for gay police officers and for dealing with LHBT issues within the wider community. The group organises a special boat for Roze in Blauw police officers during Gay Pride.

The debate was sparked by a row over allowing Muslim women police officers to wear a headscarf. The idea was first mooted as an option to boost diversity within the force by Amsterdam’s police chief but quickly abandoned in the ensuing outcry.