The row about Ken Livingstone’s New Statesman article is entirely confected by a Tory party that is increasingly worried that Ken will win the Mayoral election. Ken’s campaign has momentum because of his ‘Fare Deal’ fares-cut plan, so the Tories have decided to sling some mud.

In his article Ken was welcoming the advance of LGBT people into politics, and pointing out the Tory hypocrisy that Labour broke down by scrapping the Tories’ anti-gay legislation, illegalizing hate crime, and introducing civil partnerships.

Brian Paddick is making a foolish mistake in jumping on the Tory bandwagon, a sign of desperation as the Lib Dem candidate struggles to avoid coming fourth behind the Greens.

I for one will be delighted if Ken is back in the Mayor’s office this May.

Above all because Ken will put Londoners first by protecting policing and cutting fares. In tough times like these, Londoners can’t afford a Tory mayor who is so out of touch that he is raising transport fares, cutting police numbers and thinks it’s fine to have a second job paying £250,000 a year – an amount he calls ‘chicken feed.’

But also I want a mayor who will not just pay lip-service to LGBT Londoners but will be proactive. These days London is lagging behind other major cities when it comes to promoting equality. That is the Tory mayor’s fault.

We do not have a mayor who wants to see London leads the world on LGBT rights. As mayor, Ken made sure London had the first civil partnerships register in the UK, the Greater London Authority was hailed as an exemplary organisation in the Stonewall Employers’ Index, he actively celebrated LGBT Pride from City Hall, and he helped lead the fight against anti-gay bullying in schools. Ken blocked the Sandals holiday company from advertising across the transport system as part of a campaign to force them to drop their ban on same-sex couples.

One of the reasons I joined the Labour party was because of Ken Livingstone’s actions in fighting for equality for lesbians and gay men at a time when it was politically difficult to do so. For gay men like me, young and coming to terms with their sexuality, things were difficult. The Tory Government was passing anti-gay legislation that labeled gay relationships second-class, and allowed employers to sack people because of their sexual orientation. People have forgotten just how tough it was in the 1980s, and how vital it was that a fearless and principled politician like Ken stood out so clearly for lesbian and gay equality. Ken broke new ground for equality and ensured there were voices to counter the widespread homophobia of the time.

There are no bold moves from City Hall under the current Tory mayor. The mayor was nowhere to be seen at Pride last year, the last Pride before the Olympics. He has cancelled the annual Pride reception. One of the first acts of his administration was to cut funding to Soho Pride. He withdrew the Greater London Authority from the Stonewall Index. He has given no lead to pressurise the government over cuts that will hurt LGBT London.

And in the past, while Ken fought homophobia, Boris Johnson reinforced it. He defended the anti-gay legislation Section 28. As Chris Bryant MP tweeted last night, Boris Johnson said of gay marriage: “If gay marriage was OK – and I was uncertain on the issue – then I saw no reason in principle why a union should not be consecrated between three men, as well as two men; or indeed three men and a dog.”

Alan Duncan is wrong today when he talks about taking LGBT issues out of politics. There is more to do for as long as LGBT people are still subjected to hate-fuelled attacks, young LGBT people grow up afraid of their own identity, or older LGBT people live in fear and isolation. Ken will work with LGBT Londoners to make progress, while Boris Johnson does not. Ken will put his administration back in the Stonewall Index. He will campaign for same-sex marriage and LGBT rights. He will establish a Mayor’s LGBT Advisory Panel. He will speak up for our city when the Government’s policies damage or ignore LGBT London. He will work to tackle hate-crime. You don’t have to take my word for it – just compare Ken’s record with the current Tory mayor’s. That tells you precisely why LGBT London needs Ken Livingstone as mayor. 

Ken Livingstone is not homophobic. His use of the word riddled has to be judged in context. It was clearly not used with any homophobic intent. All parties have lots of gay and bisexual MPs, as Ken noted. He is right to state that there were many gay MPs in the Tory party, from the backbenches to the cabinet.

After Labour’s election victory in 1997 many gay Labour MPs came out, while gay Tories remained in the closet and continued to vote against gay equality. Ken was making a simple statement of fact,” added Mr Tatchell.

Ken is correct to suggest that in the 1980s and 90s the Conservative Party was avowedly anti-gay, while having many gay MPs. Lots of Tories opposed gay equality, despite their own homosexuality. They were hypocrites and homophobes. Ken is right to point this out.

In recent years, the Conservative leadership has embraced gay equality, which is commendable. However, only two weeks ago it was reported that 100 Tory MPs intend to block David Cameron’s plan to end the ban on same-sex marriage. They still oppose gay equality.

Ken was very wrong to invite the sexist, homophobic cleric, Sheikh Yusuf al-Qaradawi, to City Hall in 2004 but he should be judged on his overall record, which on gay rights is exceptionally good.

In the early 1980s, as leader of the Greater London Council, he pioneered gay rights policies that most MPs opposed at the time. It took many of them another 20 years to embrace gay equality. Ken supported the lesbian and gay community at a time when most other politicians did not. He deserves great credit.

The network said the tweets sent out by political commentator Martin, who is a regular guest on CNN shows, were “regrettable and offensive”.

A statement said: “Language that demeans is inconsistent with the values and culture of our organization, and is not tolerated. We have been giving careful consideration to this matter, and Roland will not be appearing on our air for the time being.”

The black-and-white advert showed Beckham only in underwear to promote his new line.

It aired during the National Football League’s championship game, which over 100 million people watched.

Roland Martin tweeted to his 90,000 followers during the game: “If a dude at your Super Bowl party is hyped about David Beckham’s H&M underwear ad, smack the ish out of him! #superbowl”

In response, GLAAD said “advocates of gay bashing” had no place at CNN, where Martin is a regular commentator.

Martin retorted that his jibe came about because Beckham was a soccer player, not an American football player and was not about gays.

He wrote on his website later that it was “furthest from the truth” that he would support violence or bullying towards gays and that he “sincerely regretted” any offence cause by his tweet.

6,600 people had signed GLAAD’s petition calling for CNN to stop inviting him onto network shows.

The network did not say how long Martin would be suspended.

Two men were left with severe burns by the attack after they were doused with flammable liquid and set on fire.

Police described the injuries of one as “life-changing”.

A 21-year-old man was charged with two counts of grievous bodily harm with intent at the Rainbow & Dove, the Leicester Mercury reports.

The man is due to appear at Basildon Magistrates’ Court, Essex.

​Russell Banks, 21, and Robert Laszewsk, 20, suffered severe burns in the Charles Street pub’s beer garden.

Mr Banks was hospitalised for six weeks under sedation. The Leicester Mercury reported that he required a number of skin grafts. Mr Laszewsk was discharged from hospital after a week.

In an interview with radio station LBC 97.3, on which Livingstone presents a weekly Saturday morning show, he said the Tory party had shown “real progress” from a time when MPs were forced to resign if “exposed” as gay.

Saying the party had “caught up” with Labour, Livingstone added: “There’s no harm being gay in the Tory party. It was actually a slightly back-handed compliment”.

Many were condemning the London mayoral candidate yesterday after previews were released of an interview he gave to the New Statesman.

In the interview, he condemns “hypocrisy, like some Tory MP denouncing homosexuality while they are indulging in it”.

He adds: “Well, the Labour [MPs] have all come out . . . As soon as Blair got in, if you came out as lesbian or gay you immediately got a job. It was wonderful . . . you just knew the Tory party was riddled with it like everywhere else is.”

Gay Tory MP Alan Duncan said: “Many of us have managed to take this issue out of politics. It’s inexcusable for him to try to reintroduce it.”

When asked whether the word ‘riddled’ was offensive, having connotations of disease, Livingstone said this morning his New Statesman interview was light-hearted and should not be taken seriously.

But pressed on people being upset, he replied: “Well, no. Tory MPs who did nothing to defend gay rights seized on this because they want to spend the entire election talking about anything except fare increases or police cuts.”

The former mayor said he did not regret the word, adding that he and Boris Johnson “do say what we think”.

Livingstone added that “not a single” Tory MP who had become “worked up” over his comment had objected to Boris Johnson’s comment ten years ago “that he couldn’t see the difference between a man marrying a man and a man marrying a dog.”

Boris Johnson said today: “The Mayor is proud of the excellent gay men who have worked for him – not least his deputy Richard Barnes and the late Simon Milton, who was one of the first prominent men in public life to have a civil partnership.”

Liberal Democrat candidate Brian Paddick said: “When the Daily Mail columnist Melanie Philips said similar things about me being promoted when I was a police officer, I sued her and won.

“When he talks about homosexuality in the Conservative party as being “riddled with it like everywhere else” his remarks are clearly homophobic. He is a political opportunist who likes to be controversial in order to draw attention to himself, I think his true feelings towards LGBT people have seeped out.”

Gay Labour MP Chris Bryant told the Daily Politics on BBC2 that Livingstone’s use of the word ‘riddled’ was “pretty daft [...] I’m not a fan of this word riddled at all.”

He added: “I disagree with Ken using the term riddled but Ken Livingstone is not a homophobe. He has battled for LGBT rights for years, even when it was profoundly unpopular.”

In 2006, at the launch of an anti-homophobic bullying campaign spearheaded by the gay rights charity Stonewall, Livinstone told PinkNews.co.uk: “In my school of two thousand boys, roughly a third, maybe a half of them, whilst never thinking of themselves as gay, engaged in sexual acts with other boys.

“We had no idea that what we were doing was anything other than ‘naughty’ and something that our teachers frowned upon.”

He added: “It was mainly driven by the fact that we weren’t having sex. I grew up in a world where the average man didn’t lose his virginity until he was 19 and the average woman until they were 21. Many not until the night of their marriage, only after a whole day of eating and drinking, when you’re hardly going to get the best results!

“My generation has been wholly envious of the generations that followed in relation to sex.”

Stonewall’s Top 100 Employers 2012 ranks the best employers for lesbian, gay and bisexual staff, from which the seven top Scottish employers have been extracted.

Clydesdale Bank won Scottish Network Group of the Year.

The Crown Office and Procurator Fiscal Service is named as the most improved Scottish employer.

Stonewall’s Workplace Equality Index is drawn up from a staff satisfaction survey of over 7,500 lesbian, gay and bisexual employees and other indicators.

Barclays rose from tenth place to third in the overall UK rankings this year, behind the Home Office and Ernst & Young and has now been named the top Scottish employer.

Lloyds Banking Group came 18th overall, RBS was 45th and Clydesdale 67th.

Colin Macfarlane, Director of Stonewall Scotland said: “We’re delighted that seven Scottish organisations made the top 100 guide of best gay-friendly employers in Britain.

“In a labour market when competition for talent is stronger than ever before, the top Scottish employers featured in our guide have recognised the importance of sending a clear signal to staff, customers and to service users that they recognise that people perform better when they can be themselves. At a time when we need to ensure that Scotland utilises all its talent to ensure a strong and viable economy this has never been more important.”

Mark McLane, Managing Director, Head of Global Diversity and Inclusion, Barclays, said: “This recognition continues to affirm Barclays commitment to diversity and inclusion. Our partnership with Stonewall has been a vital enabler for our Spectrum Diversity Network in providing the resources essential in positioning Barclays as an employer of choice for the lesbian, gay, bisexual and ally community.”

Antony Jenkins, Chief Executive of Barclays Retail and Business Banking, added: “I firmly believe that we can only build a great business if we have talented people from all backgrounds contributing to our team at Barclays. That is why I’m thrilled that Stonewall has recognised our inclusive working environment for lesbian, gay and bisexual people; and that we have been rated as the top financial services company in the UK.”

Mr Hughes joined former footballer Paul Gascoigne, comedian Steve Coogan and football agent Sky Andrew in agreeing a settlement.

After a hearing, Mr Hughes said: “the evidence in my case clearly demonstrates that the practice of hacking was widespread. It was criminal behaviour on an industrial scale.”

He added: “Sadly, the deficiencies of the original police inquiries, which failed to investigate the clear evidence of much of the criminal behaviour at one of the most important businesses in our country, are also all too apparent.

“We must now make sure that nothing like this can ever happen again.

“Anyone involved in criminal activity at the News of the World must be brought to justice, and all those who allowed a large company to behave in this way must be held to account.

“There must also be answers to the serious questions about how the police managed to fail so badly in their original investigation.

“I will now pursue this matter through my participation in the Leveson Inquiry, an inquiry which I fully support.”

Glenn Mulcaire, the private investigator hired by the paper had already pleaded guilty to hacking into Mr Hughes’s messages, along with seven other people’s voicemails in 2006.

Mr Hughes was forced to come out as bisexual by the News of the World’s sister newspaper The Sun in 2005, in an interview to respond to claims to be made by the newspaper that he had contacted men using a gay telephone chat service.

News Group Newspapers is a subsidiary of News International, itself a subsidiary of Rupert Murdoch’s News Corp.

The Labour London mayoral candidate told the publication he condemned “hypocrisy, like some Tory MP denouncing homosexuality while they are indulging in it”.

He added: “Well, the Labour [MPs] have all come out . . . As soon as Blair got in, if you came out as lesbian or gay you immediately got a job. It was wonderful . . . you just knew the Tory party was riddled with it like everywhere else is.”

Gay Tory MP Alan Duncan said: “Many of us have managed to take this issue out of politics. It’s inexcusable for him to try to reintroduce it.”

But a spokesman for Mr Livingstone, who was London’s mayor from 2000 to 2008, told the Evening Standard: “Ken is clearly saying the advance of lesbian and gay people into politics is unequivocally a good thing. He has fought for equality for gay and lesbian people throughout his life, and the fact they are represented in all major political parties is a sign of the progress that has been made.”

In 2006, at the launch of an anti-homophobic bullying campaign spearheaded by the gay rights charity Stonewall, Livinstone told PinkNews.co.uk: “In my school of two thousand boys, roughly a third, maybe a half of them, whilst never thinking of themselves as gay, engaged in sexual acts with other boys.

“We had no idea that what we were doing was anything other than ‘naughty’ and something that our teachers frowned upon.”

He added: “It was mainly driven by the fact that we weren’t having sex. I grew up in a world where the average man didn’t lose his virginity until he was 19 and the average woman until they were 21. Many not until the night of their marriage, only after a whole day of eating and drinking, when you’re hardly going to get the best results!

“My generation has been wholly envious of the generations that followed in relation to sex.”

Mr Livingstone was criticised last year for having earned money working for an Iranian television station which led to Tory calls for him to be banned from Pride. Press TV, for which Livingstone presented a series of programmes, had its licence revoked by Ofcom last month after it was revealed to be editorially controlled by Tehran.

In 2004, Mr Livingstone invited Islamic cleric Sheikh Yusuf al-Qaradawi to City Hall. Dr Qawardi, who is banned from entering the US, has argued in the past that gays should be put to death and has also supported female genital mutilation and suicide bombings in Israel. Some of his statements have been filmed, while others were published as quotes on his personal website.

But in 2001, Mr Livingstone introduced the first gay relationships register, four years ahead of the introduction of civil partnerships. In 2010, he published an LGBT election manifesto for his campaign this year, saying he would appoint an LGBT advisory board and hold an annual Pride reception, reintroducing measures then removed by Boris Johnson.

He told the current issue of the New Statesman: “It is very hard to find anything in Boris’s career that he’s serious about. He just loves life too much to really succeed as a politician.”

The campaign has been running for some time and has even been the subject of a major television advertising campaign for Google. Launched by the journalist Dan Savage, it began as a video he posted in response to a growing number of teenagers in the United States who were taking their own lives after being homophobicly bullied. The point of the campaign was to tell young people that ”it gets better”. Public figures ranging from Lady Gaga to Barack Obama to David Cameron have given messages of hope to young people.

I first started the process of coming out when I was 15, telling just my mother first and asking her to keep it a secret (mums always know, or so they say). When I started a new school, JFS, an Orthodox Jewish school in North London for sixth form, I decided that I would tell most of the new friends that I made that I mainly liked boys.

I was lucky to never really get picked on for my sexuality. Some students were fascinated by someone being quite so open, but I guess I thought I had nothing to lose – I clearly made friends with people who didn’t care about my sexuality. But back then there was still Section 28, which more or less meant homosexuality wasn’t discussed in the classroom. As you hear in my video, my tale was rather simple, I didn’t get bullied, I didn’t sit through lessons where I was told that my sexuality was wrong, I didn’t get rejected by my family and everyone lived happily ever after. But not everyone is so lucky, particularly people who like me come from a strong faith background.

I’ve got to say that one way I came to terms with coming out was that I sort of lost a bit of my Jewish identity. But over recent years, I’ve discovered that there are lots of gay Jewish people and I’ve become involved in the formation of Keshet UK, the national forum for LGBT Jews. Through this role, I felt encouraged to post an ‘It Gets Better’ video and effectively use my very public profile on television to offer a message of support and comfort to other people who come from a similar background as me. As I say in my video, “some young people are still being told that homosexuality is a choice, not something you can’t help. In some religious institutions young people are being told about so called reparative therapy for same sex attraction. In other words, courses and treatments to turn you straight.”

The sorts of treatments ”gay cure” centres offer is, apparently, akin to the treatments forced upon people convicted of being homosexual in Britain during some of the last century. I know friends who voluntarily tried and failed to turn straight and wasted a lot of money in the process. But when I heard about these courses being suggested to young people within an education environment, and that there had unfortunately been incidents of self-harm within the Jewish community as a result of them, I felt the need to do something.

As a correspondent on Channel 4 News, I have a serious obligation to report impartially on the stories that I cover on television. In a sense you – the audience – aren’t supposed to know what I think about a whole array of subjects, particularly when they verge on the political. But I felt that on this occasion, my impartiality wasn’t something that would be jeopardised because my views on homosexuality are pretty well-known already. I founded PinkNews.co.uk, the most-read gay publication in Europe and I often re-tweet/ share on Facebook stories and issues that affect the LGBT community.

I felt that the video would have a lot more impact if it was recorded in the Channel 4 newsroom. The programme director said he’d get the camera and lights setup while I got myself together. I’d imagined that I’d do it down the far end of the newsroom, perched on an unoccupied collection of desks. When I came back into the newsroom, I saw that he’d set everything up dead in the centre of the room, right in front of the news desk where Krishnan, Jon and Cathy sit. So while preparing myself, I thought only about the eventual YouTube viewers, I didn’t think that I would also be recounting my coming out story to my colleagues. I’d be talking to them as well about a nasty comment about gay people that my Dad once said and my feelings of being twice blessed, gay and Jewish. I’ve got to say that was the most nerve-wracking thing of all.

Once I watched back the video, I realised it would have some impact. It’s the thing I’m most proud of making during the five-and-a -half years that I’ve been at Channel 4 News because it’s from the heart. It’s not the best delivered piece to camera I’ve ever recorded or the best use of language. But it really means something to me. The personal connection is something that very rarely happens with news stories I produce.

The response has been phenomenal. Major figures ranging from Sarah Brown (the wife of the former prime minister, Gordon Brown) to Stephen Fry have shared the video. But it’s the amazing messages that I have received that mean the most. From young people, on the verge of coming out who now know who to contact for support, to parents who like mine are proud to have openly lesbian, gay, bisexual or transgendered children. I’m emotionally drained from having read their stories, but in a good way.

The response that I’ve received has shown me the power of social media for good. I hope that the video will continue to provide a message of hope to young people from all faith backgrounds and none that coming out need not be the end of the world, it’s just about being honest with that they love, maybe for the first time in years. And of course, that things get better.

This post first appeared on Benjamin Cohen’s Channel 4 News blog.

Benjamin is the Technology Correspondent for Channel 4 News.

The group advocates lifting the ban on bishops in civil partnerships and allowing priests free choice on whether to conduct such ceremonies in their churches, an issue currently being considered by a review group in the church’s House of Bishops.

Reverend Benny Hazlehurst, Chair of the LGBT Anglican Coalition, told PinkNews.co.uk the group would be handing out flyers outside the General Synod at a Silent Act of Witness tomorrow ahead of its meeting with the review group this month.

He said: “If all the LGB&T Clergy were to leave the Church of England, parochial and sector ministry in the Church of England would suffer major trauma, and the parish system in some parts of the country would face utter collapse.”

Rev Hazlehurst said the group estimated there are over 1,500 gay, bi or trans clergy in the country and the LGBT Anglican Coalition was advocating more recognition of these members.

In December 2011, the Church’s House of Bishops announced the creation of a review group to advise it on civil partnerships, chaired by the Bishop of Sodor and Man, the Rt Rev Robert Paterson.

The other two members of the Group are the Bishop of Portsmouth, the Rt Rev Christopher Foster, and the Bishop of Dorchester, the Rt Rev Colin Fletcher.

The Church of England said the group should report to the House of Bishops in time to reach conclusions this year.

In July, the House of Bishops had issued a statement saying, in part: “Over the past five and half years there have been several developments. Consistent with the guidelines in the Pastoral Statement a number of clergy are now in civil partnerships. The General Synod decided to amend the clergy pension scheme to improve the provision for the surviving civil partners of clergy who have died.

“More recently Parliament has decided that civil partnerships may be registered on religious premises where the relevant religious authority has consented (the necessary regulations are expected this autumn).

“The review will need to take account of this changing scene [...] Within the Anglican tradition our theological thinking is formed by a reasoned interpretation of Scripture, within the living tradition of the Church informed by pastoral experience. The House believes there is a theological task to be done to clarify further our understanding of the nature and status of these partnerships.”

A number of London’s Anglican priests signed a letter asking for acknowledgement of the “growing number of clergy” in the capital who feel that whether to conduct the ceremonies is “a matter for the conscience” for priests.

The coalition’s Act of Witness will take place at the Dean’s Yard in Westminster, London tomorrow morning from 8.45 to 9.30am.

The LGBT Anglican Coalition comprises Accepting Evangelicals, Changing Attitude, The Clergy Consultation, Courage, The Evangelical Fellowship for Lesbian and Gay Christians, Inclusive Church, The Lesbian and Gay Christian Movement, The Sibyls and the General Synod Human Sexuality Group.

Because trans is in the news not, as so often, as sensation, as spectacle: but as grown up, fully-fledged participants to ongoing political debate. Can it be? Can it possibly be? And is this just flash in the pan, or the beginning of something larger?

Today’s stories are actually quite closely linked. First up is the news of ten-year old trans girl, Livvy James. Sick and tired of being picked on at school: fed up, too, with the way press intervention has made matters worse, she has started a very simple petition. It asks the press to lay off trans folk.

She pulls no punches in stating that press prurience contributes to bullying, abuse and worse. The bottom line is inevitable: careless talk costs lives. And Livvy thinks its time that stopped.

Co-incidentally (or not: I don’t much care, since the cause is pure), Helen Belcher from Trans Media Watch is to appear before the Leveson Inquiry this afternoon to talk about trans experience of the press. There will be cases similar to Livvy’s.

There will be heart-rending stuff, too, about lives destroyed and families riven asunder by this same press carelessness. In sharp contrast to the wilful complacency of former PCC Director Tim Toulmin, there will be evidence that this continues, two years after the PCC allegedly put a stop to that sort of thing.

The two events are rounded out by a great deal more serious media interest than the trans community usually receives. Paris Lees, of TMW, and Livvy on the BBC’s Breakfast Time today. Pieces likely to follow in the broadsheets.

Does this mean change is on the way?

Er, no. And yes. Because the real point is that what is happening today – the willingness of the establishment to take trans issues seriously – is not the beginning of anything: it is the culmination of months, years of work. It’s there in some small improvements in the press.

There too in Ministers like Lynne Featherstone, and in every comment on trans-related articles – more often from women, I fear – that acknowledges trans people should just be left to get on with their lives.

Leveson will report. Government will obfuscate. Some time in the distant future, laws will change.

Meanwhile, it is to be hoped that editors and bigots everywhere will understand the message behind today’s dignified display of quiet anger from the trans community. We have teeth: and this is no flash in pan. Its too late for that.

Because in the UK at least, the trans minority has come of age. Today is not the beginning of change – but a sure sign that it is happening already.

Jane Fae is an independent writer and sexual rights activist. 

Conservative MEP for London Marina Yannakoudakis MEP had written to Turkish Cypriot leader Dr. Derviş Eroğlu condemning the arrests, calling for charges to be dropped and asking for a moratorium on further arrests.

A challenge at the European Court of Human Rights of the anti-gay laws in the unrecognised state was announced yesterday.

Marina Yannakoudakis’s office said Dr. Hasan Güngör, an advisor to Dr. Eroğlu, had responded to her today saying the men had not yet been charged and the leader is not able to impose a moratorium on arrests.

In Dr. Güngör’s letter, the advisor states: “Contrary to what has been insinuated in the media, no charges have so far been brought against the two men with respect to same sexual relations.”

He continues: “The police investigation on that incident is ongoing and once the investigation is completed, the Attorney General’s Office will make the necessary legal evaluation and decide on the charges to be brought against the accused.”

On forbidding any future arrests under the law, Dr. Güngör wrote: “The legislation in force does not authorize (Dr. Eroğlu) to impose a moratorium on arrests under section 171 of the Criminal Code, or to ‘suspend’ the implementation of any law.”

However, Dr. Güngör stated that measures to repeal the anti-gay law were before the relevant committee and were awaiting assessment by the relevant authorities.

Dr. Güngör also made clear that “The European Convention of Human Rights (ECHR) prevails over domestic law”.

The letter also says Dr. Eroğlu “stands by his promise that, once the legislative process is completed he will sign the amending law that will repeal the relevant sections of the Criminal Code to end the criminalization of unnatural offences”.

Northern Cyprus declared itself an independent state in 1983 but has not had international recognition.

Marina Yannakoudakis MEP said today: “I am pleased to receive such a speedy reply to my letter to Dr. Eroğlu’s office. Recognition by the authorities that the European Convention of Human Rights applies in the north part of Cyprus means that by prohibiting private consensual homosexual acts the north is in violation of Article 8.

“I am also pleased to note that Dr. Eroğlu intends to ‘stand by his promise’ to repeal the ban, although I am disappointed that an immediate moratorium has been rejected.

“Nevertheless I am concerned that, while no official charges have been brought against the two men detained on 29 January, that these men remain under investigation.

“Also I was informed by the north-based Initiative Against Homophobia that they are currently being held in punishment cells in Nicosia Central prison. I hope that if the north part of Cyprus is to demonstrate its commitment to human rights, that no further charges will be brought for homosexual acts.”

The message on 19-year-old Morrison’s account read: “Crack head? Go suck out u little faggot your a guy that talks if u see me you try slap me I’m in manchester every week.”

Morrison was signed to West Ham United just over a week ago, on 31 January for three and a half years. The fee the club paid for him is not known.

The midfielder has 63,000 followers on the micro-blogging site. He was reportedly antagonised before the tweet appeared.

Alan Duffy of The Justice Campaign told goal.com: “It’s extremely disappointing to hear that yet another professional footballer in England has used homophobic language.

“Ravel Morrison may well not be aware of the damage those kind of remarks can do, but when football stars indulge in that kind of language, it only reinforces the view that football is not a welcoming place of LGBT fans or players.”

West Ham was relegated from the Premier League last year. The Premier League clubs signed the government’s anti-homophobia charter last week.

The tweet also comes during national LGBT History Month which is focused on tackling homophobia in sport.

Last month, Leicester City player Michael Ball was fined £6,000 by the FA for anti-gay comments he made on Twitter.

Ball, 32, admitted the charge of bringing the game into disrepute with his expletive-peppered tweet directed at actor Antony Cotton.

During Cotton’s appearance on I’m A Celebrity, Ball reportedly told followers: “That fucking queer. Get back to your sewing machine in Corrie, you moaning bastard.”

Also this year, Oxford City FC released Lee Steele from his obligations to the club after the footballer posted a comment on Twitter about gay rugby star Gareth Thomas.

Steele, 38, was not seen at a match on Saturday after writing: “I wouldn’t fancy the bed next to Gareth Thomas #padlockeda**ehole”.

The Inquiry has been investigating invasions of privacy by the British press since it opened in mid-November.

Paris Lees, the charity’s Project Manager said: “Our evidence reveals monstrous intrusion into the lives of private individuals, including children and rape victims, leading to people being forced out of their jobs and the breakdown of families. Some have received death threats following unwanted and hostile press attention.”

She added: “Newspapers have incited witch-hunts by neighbours, and families with children have been trapped in their own homes by media camped on their doorsteps. Some children have even been forced to move school or to new neighbourhoods.”

In their submission to the Inquiry, the charity refers to a “climate of prejudice” against trans people fostered by the media.

They added that trans people are vulnerable to allegations which often disrupt their lives and put them at risk of violence.

The charity’s submission includes numerous tabloid headlines about individual trans people with multiple references to sex “swaps” and “changes” as well as incorrect use of pronouns and the use of quotes when discussing transgender and intersex status in a way which appears to cast doubt over their existence.

TMW’s witness for Leveson, Helen Belcher, says fear prevents many from seeking justice: “Perhaps most sinister are the many accounts of families and individuals afraid of complaining to the PCC, and who dare not take legal action – for fear that the bullying will start again.”

“None of these people led public lives; there was nothing in their lives of any public interest. The interest was pure prurience and sensationalism, due to the fact that they were undergoing medical gender transition – a highly personal process.”

On 30 January, Tim Toulmin, a former Director of the PCC, gave evidence to the Inquiry, saying “not very long ago, it was quite commonplace for people to be ridiculed on the basis of gender dysphoria, and that’s something that the Code Committee recognised needed to change and they changed the rules and you just don’t see it any more.”

Lees says this is not true: “Mr Toulmin’s evidence to Leveson flies in the face of what TMW sees regularly in the British press. Most of our evidence was gathered from press articles published in 2011. We see a number of abusive pieces each month. It just shows how out of touch the PCC actually is.”

Gender identity has been protected since 2005 under the PCC’s Code of Conduct in the same way as race, disability and sexuality.

But the charity alleges that ordinary people are relatively defenceless against poor reporting.

Among seven key recommendations for future regulation, TMW suggests allowing complaints to be registered by marginalised groups, the provision of an ombudsman for those with limited means, and the regulation of press agencies.

This week, the editor of the Daily Mail, Paul Dacre, told the Inquiry there was “not a homophobic bone in Jan Moir’s body” when he was questioned on her column about the death of Stephen Gately.

Click here to watch the Leveson Inquiry live.

Dacre said it “could have benefited from a little judicious sub-editing” but added he had been at the opera for his wife’s birthday the evening the column was filed.

He added that he would “die in a ditch to defend a columnist’s right to have her views. There isn’t a homophobic bone in Jan Moir’s body”.

More than 20,000 people wrote to the Press Complaints Commission after Moir’s piece, which won her the Stonwall Bigot of the Year Award.

The column, which was described by Stonewall Chief Executive Ben Summerskill as a “spasm of hatred”, followed the untimely death of Stephen Gately in Mallorca in October 2009.

It was originally titled “Why there was nothing ‘natural’ about Stephen Gately’s death” but appeared in print as “A strange, lonely and troubling death”.

Moir wrote: “Healthy and fit 33-year-old men do not just climb into their pyjamas and go to sleep on the sofa, never to wake up again.

“And I think if we are going to be honest, we would have to admit that the circumstances surrounding his death are more than a little sleazy.”

She also drew comparisons between Gately and Kevin McGee, the former civil partner of Matt Lucas, despite Gately dying of natural causes and McGee committing suicide after months of depression and addiction.

She wrote: “Another real sadness about Gately’s death is that it strikes another blow to the happy-ever-after myth of civil partnerships. Gay activists are always calling for tolerance and understanding about same-sex relationships, arguing that they are just the same as heterosexual marriages. Not everyone, they say, is like George Michael.

“Of course, in many cases this may be true. Yet the recent death of Kevin McGee, the former husband of Little Britain star Matt Lucas, and now the dubious events of Gately’s last night raise troubling questions about what happened. It is important that the truth comes out about the exact circumstances of his strange and lonely death.”

The PCC ultimately rejected complains over Moir’s column saying that although it could “understand how the column had generated wide anger”, it did not police matters of offence and decency.

It said: “The commission considered that it should be slow to prevent columnists from expressing their views, however controversial they might be.

“The price of freedom of expression is that often commentators and columnists say things with which other people may not agree, may find offensive or may consider to be inappropriate.”

PCC director Stephen Abell said the case had been “difficult but important”.

He added that the PCC recognised the “flaws” in the article but ruled it “would not be proportionate to rule against the columnist’s right to offer freely-expressed views about something that was the focus of public attention”.

In a column later the same month, she wrote: “I am not – unlike those close to Stephen Gately – mourning for the loss of a much-loved partner, son, family member and close friend. To them, I would like to say sorry if I have caused distress by the insensitive timing of the column, published so close to the funeral.”

Tom Cullen and Chris New star as Russell and Glen, a pair of young gay men who meet in a Nottingham gay club on a Friday night.

The film charts the way their relationship develops over the following 48 hours.

Haigh said the award was “amazing and unexpected; this past year has just been incredible. I just want to thank the actors, Tom and Chris, who really brought so much to the script and I share this with them.”

The film has currently grossed over £200,000 at the UK box office after reportedly being filmed on a £120,000 budget.

The director also won the British Breakthrough Film-maker award at last month’s London Film Critics’ Circle Awards.

Two British Independent Film Awards also followed: for Achievement In Production and Most Promising Newcomer for actor Tom Cullen.

Cullen is next set to appear alongside Cynthia Nixon in an adaptation of Ken Follett’s World Without End.

Best Film last night went to We Need to Talk about Kevin. Michael Fassbender won Best Actor and Olivia Colman took home the gong for Best Actress.

The black-and-white advert showed Beckham only in underwear to promote his new line.

It aired during the National Football League’s championship game, which over 100 million people watched.

Roland Martin tweeted to his 90,000 followers during the game: “If a dude at your Super Bowl party is hyped about David Beckham’s H&M underwear ad, smack the ish out of him! #superbowl”

In response, GLAAD said “advocates of gay bashing” had no place at CNN, where Martin is a regular commentator.

Martin insisted his comment, made during the American Football event of the year, was made because Beckham is a soccer player.

He responded yesterday that it was “furthest from the truth” that he would support violence or bullying towards gays and that he “sincerely regretted” any offence cause by his tweet.

On RolandMartinReports.com, he wrote: “When we witness violence in this country against someone because they are gay, or being beaten because they are Black, that speaks to a vicious cycle that seems to be never ending.

“My joking about smacking someone, whether it was in response to a commercial or food they prepare for a Super Bowl party or wearing an opposing team’s jersey, was stated in jest. It was not meant literally, and in no way would I ever condone someone doing such a thing.

“As I said repeatedly, I often make jokes about soccer in the U.S., and my crack about David Beckham’s commercial was related to that and not to anyone’s sexuality. To those who construed my comment as being anti-gay or homophobic or advancing violence, I’m truly sorry. I can certainly understand how someone could come to a different conclusion than the one I meant.

He added: “As someone who has spoken out forcefully against bigotry against African Americans and other minorities, as well as sexism against women, I fully understand how a group who has been unfairly treated would be offended by such comments, and, again, I am sorry for any offense my remarks caused.

At the time of publication, 5,700 people had signed a petition calling for CNN to stop inviting Martin to comment on current affairs.

As well as criticising the tweet, GLAAD also drew attention to Martin’s previously-expressed views on ‘gay cure’.

In 2006, a post by Roland Martin on RolandSMartin.com apparently equates homosexuality with kleptomania, saying: “… for Christians, going to church is not supposed to be a feel good exercise. We are expected to be convicted, and encouraged to walk away from sin and live a more Christ-like life. In my church, this goes for the woman who is an alcoholic, the child who continues to be disobedient to his parents, the young lady who is hell-bent on stealing, and the person who is gay.

It continues: “My wife, an ordained Baptist minister for 20 years, has counseled many men and women to walk away from the gay lifestyle, and to live a chaste life. She has asked heterosexual men and women to abstain from sex until marriage. For her, the obligation is to her calling as a minister of the Word, rather than bowing to societal pressures. She loves gay and lesbian church members dearly, and prays with them, talks to them, and breaks bread with them. But what she cannot do is compromise the integrity of the teachings of Christ.”

Martin had also previously come to the defence of Tracy Morgan, who caused offence last year after an ill-judged joke at a Nashville about stabbing his own son if he came out as gay.

Pride (South East) have today called the release of the financial documents which outline the event’s debts “unhelpful” and a “misrepresentation” of the event’s position.

They also said a statement confirming they would cease trading was released prematurely last week and negotiations with creditors are ongoing.

Today’s statement in Gscene says: “Pride (South East) issued a statement on Friday 3rd February outlining the rejection of a VAT refund and associated financial problems. The Trustees role has been to work with suppliers and other partners to seek acceptable solutions; this work has been on-going in recent weeks and still continues.

“The Trustees recognise the anxiety the local community has regarding the future status of Pride and they have been working hard to reach a clarified position which could then be explained.

“This work has been hindered by the unhelpful release of documents which misrepresent Pride’s position by individuals no longer involved.

“In particular a draft statement has been published online, although this was never released by Pride and confuses the present situation.

“While the charity believes in transparency with all stakeholders, including the community, it is necessary to maintain a level of confidentiality when negotiating with suppliers and other partners.

“Work continues this week and details will be published once meetings have been completed.”

Pride (South East) chairman Russell Allen had released a statement on 3 February saying a rejected VAT claim “dramatically” damaged finances.

A subsequent statement, which the trustees now claim was only a draft, confirmed the charity would “cease trading”, following advice from “accountants, solicitors and insolvency practioners [sic]“.

“The Park event has made a loss over a number of years. In 2011 with the park fenced and ticketed, much greater costs were involved in putting on the event.”

The statement goes on to apologise to creditors and the LGBT community and hopes that “another group will take up the mantle of organising Pride, hopefully for 2012, but if not certainly for 2013″.

PinkNews.co.uk has been unable to reach the organisers. Pride (South East)’s outgoing voicemail message says it is in the process of moving offices.

A spokesperson for Brighton and Hove Council told PinkNews.co.uk: “Pride is an important event for the city – not only for residents and visitors but also our economy. While Pride is not a council run event, we work closely with the police, the fire brigade, residents and local businesses to ensure this event is successful and safe.

“The changes that were made last year, in particular the fencing and ticketing and the different arrangements around the clean up, were in response to the calls from the police and fire brigade as well as our communities and residents.

“We understand Pride South East is in a difficult position financially which is extremely regrettable but it’s for the trustees to make their decision on a course of action. We are committed to continuing to work with the community and our partners to ensure the city continues to celebrate its unique equality and diversity through Pride.

“In the meantime we are talking to interested parties and will listen to proposals. It takes six months to get all the necessary permissions in place beginning with landlords consent on 6th March.”

Caroline Lucas, leader of the Green Party and MP for Brighton Pavilion told Gaydar Radio: “If the reports of Pride’s financial difficulties are accurate, then it is very worrying. Pride is a hugely important event in Brighton & Hove’s calendar, both for the city and the whole country. It offers a vital opportunity to celebrate LGBT lives and to celebrate diversity. I hope very much it will go ahead this year.”

This is the sorry tale of how US Customs officials decided to apply such a test – and as a result humiliated and embarrassed a Canadian woman who was on her way to run a marathon and visit friends.

The story, released today by Christin Milloy, who also alerted the world to Canada’s no-fly rule, is that of Jennifer McCreath, from Newfoundland.

Following GRS in January 2011, Ms McCreath applied for a new birth certificate from the Nova Scotia administration, secure in the knowledge that according to officials there, she should expect to wait no longer than 10 days for her new documentation.

Seven weeks later, and with no certificate in sight, Ms McCreath was forced to set off carrying only her current passport, which included a gender marker of “M”.

All went well, until Toronto Pearson international airport, where she had to go through customs before boarding her next airplane, to the United States.

A US Customs agent inspected her passport, where and directed Ms McCreath to ‘Secondary Screening’, where she was photographed and fingerprinted. A further 90 minutes elapsed before anyone else spoke to her: since other individuals were dealt with in the intervening minutes, there is some concern that this was done deliberately in order to ensure she would miss her plane.

There then followed a search of her bags and according to Ms McCreath: “They started asking me all sorts of bizarre personal questions about my sexuality.” They also asked a number of intrusive and personal questions about surgery they assumed she had had, as well as questioning her about her medication and the purpose of a highly intimate device – a dilator – that they discovered in her luggage.

This last line of questioning continued despite the fact that Ms McCreath was carrying with her a doctor’s note which, she explained, “describes (the medical device) as urgent for me to have on my person, and can’t afford to lose them in luggage and to please let me carry them on board”.

In the end, Ms McCreath was permitted to continue on her way, paying out an additional $80 for having to change flights. To add insult to injury, it subsequently transpired that had she chosen to do so, she could have obtained a temporary passport from the Canadian Passport Office in the two years prior to her surgery. However, despite several conversations and a visit to the offices of that body, she was at no time informed of this option.

Following so soon after attempts by Canada’s Ministry of Transport to justify similar discriminatory legislation in respect of flying over Canada, this is a stark reminder of what happens when bad rules are allowed to lie on the books.

Spokespersons for that Office told us last week that:

- The no-fly rules were not new: they had originally been implemented in 2007, and were re-issued last summer;

- They were designed with “security” in mind and would help transport officials in determining whether an individual resembled their photographic identity

- They were in line with International Civil Aviation Organisation rules, as well as similar rules enforced by every other government in the world

They declined, however, to answer questions as to how a subjective assessment of gender might help an individual match a face to a photograph: nor would they give any further information as to how this measure would assist with security.

Despite several requests to substantiate their claims in respect of ICAO rulings, they declined to provide any text to corroborate their claims: nor were they prepared to back up their claims that these rules were the same as rules implemented elsewhere in the world.

Spokespersons for both the UK Border Agency and UK Dept of Transport told us that they were not aware of any such regulation being implemented in the UK.

Most chillingly, when asked how it could be possible for an official to determine whether a passenger appears “to be of the gender indicated on the identification he or she presents” – and whether there were any plans to carry out strip searches in this respect, they again declined to respond.

Ms McCreath understands that US officials are allowed to operate on Canadian soil so long as they abide by Canadian Human Rights legislation: if nothing else, the existence of Canada’s no-fly regulations seems likely to be used by US officials as justification for their action in this instance.

L’Homme du Jour, or Man of the Day, had its administrative access reinstated on Friday night after 4,600 fans were faced with being left without updates over the weekend.

The page currently holds between 50 and 70,000 images of the crème de la crème of male photographic subjects.

Some may have thought the image of Leo Silva posing almost au naturel, taken by Brazilian photographer Antonio Bezerra, had a certain je ne sais quoi.

But Facebook initially disagreed, saying it contravened the community standards rules in its Statement of Rights and Responsibilities, and delivered a coup de grâce, temporarily revoking L’Homme du Jour’s administrative rights on Friday.

Ray Clark, the page’s administrator, told PinkNews.co.uk at the time: “I think that the removal of this image is outrageous, we live in a modern society where people (and especially women) are allowed to wear even skimpier and even less than what is shown in this image. This image contains no nudity nor is it sexually suggestive.

“On numerous occasions we have advised Facebook that we are committed to adhering to their community standards and have asked them to clarify exactly what is and isn’t acceptable, but of course they remain mysteriously silent on the issue.”

The social networking site performed a volte-face on the decision hours later, reinstating the administrator rights at 9.30pm GMT.

Facebook’s approach to reports of community standards infringements is turning into a bête noire for some and a feeling of déjà vu would be forgiven after the US military’s gay support group OutServe was also briefly suspended and reinstated after a user reportedly claimed it was infringing its own rights last month.

At the time, blogger John Aravosis wrote that Facebook needed to establish better processes, saying: “This is starting to reek of an anti-gay action by the fake complainant, and we can’t have Facebook setting up a precedent where they pull down the pages of legitimate gay groups every time a homophobe makes up a lie.”

On the subject of who may have prompted L’Homme du Jour’s suspension, which at first looked set to become a cause célèbre, Clark told PinkNews.co.uk: “I think that what is really happening here is a planned and strategic attack on our page by conservative and/or religious groups who are against anything other than an overall.

“But this will only serve to encourage us to post more and more content of this type.”

Vive la résistance.