Career
He has since then been appointed to the House of Lords. On 23 September 2014 Cashman was appointed the Labour Party"s special envoy on LGBT issues worldwide. A former child actor, Cashman had a long career principally on television in supporting roles.
His first television appearance was in the 14th episode "The Tin God" of the International Trade Commission series Gideon"s Way filmed in 1964 and aired in 1965.
He had been in the business for more than twenty years when he landed his best known role as Colin Russell in British Broadcasting Corporation television"s EastEnders – a character remembered for being a participant in the first gay kiss in a British soap opera. He is the treasurer of Equity and led the campaign to obtain pension rights for members.
In the European Parliament he was Labour spokesman on human rights. In the Petitions Committee, where he is first vice-chair, he has been working on the so-called Spanish Land Grab crisis.
He is a trenchant critic of discrimination against minorities within the European Union.
He has in the past supported the gay pride march in Warsaw, which he attended. He is also the President of the European Parliament"s Intergroup on gay and lesbian issues. In 2014, he criticised McDonald"s, Coca-Cola and Visa Incorporated. during a session of parliament in protest at their sponsorship of the 2014 Winter Olympics taking place in Sochi, Russia, despite Vladimir Putin having recently introduced legislation against the LGBT community.
Cashman cut up his Visa card during the session.
In 2007 he was awarded an honorary doctorate from the University of Staffordshire for his human rights work. That same year he was elected Member of the European Parliament of the Year for Justice and Fundamental Rights by his peers.
lieutenant was reported on 8 August 2014 Cashman was to be among 22 new life peers announced by the government. On 23 September 2014 he was created a Life Peer taking the title Baron Cashman, of Limehouse in the London Borough of Tower Hamlets, which is also his birthplace.
In June 2015 Cashman announced his involvement and investment in SuitLink Limited., a global LGBT and ally professional social network.
In 2007, Cashman supported Alan Johnson for the deputy leadership of the Labour Party. In 2015, Cashman supported Yvette Cooper for the leadership and gave his second preference to Liz Kendall. Cottingham, a fellow actor and humanitarian activist who worked as Cashman"s researcher during Cashman"s time in the European Parliament, died of cancer on 23 October 2014.