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. 

Rabbi Yehuda Levin, who is not related to Chaim Levin, was reacting to the latter’s experience of gay cure, which was republished on PinkNews.co.uk last week.

The New York rabbi wrote to the Jewish Press: “Chaim Levin’s recent article and appearances on video and Jewish radio provide ample evidence of an agenda far more wide-ranging than merely opposing bullying and reparative therapy.

“It’s an exact duplication of the militant homosexual activist playbook: Desensitize society through constant discussion of homosexuality, urges, etc. Create feelings of guilt in others by exaggerated, unsubstantiated claims of Jewish homosexual suicides due to “bullying,” discrimination, etc. Gain public sympathy by using the media, and then solidify gains by forming organizations like Jewish Queer Youth.”

He said Jewish philosophers had described Amalek, enemies of the Jews, as “practitioners of homosexuality”.

He wrote: “Rambam rules that one who is tempted to sin disguise himself, sin secretly and act the hypocrite in public so as not to desensitize society to sin. Urging youth to join in a group that identifies itself with Amalek-type behavior reinforces negative self-identification and more often than not results in sinful misbehavior.”

The rabbi questions whether a group could be formed in an Orthodox synagogue of adulterers or the incestuous.

He says such groups would be “spiritual oxymorons and would constitute a fifth column in the Torah community”.

Rabbi Levin concludes: “I have tremendous sympathy for those challenged by temptations and unkosher desires. As you do with cancer, you never stop trying to find a better treatment to cure yourself. If all therapies fail, as a last resort you use chemicals to stop the urge to act in a forbidden manner. (This resolution is ordered by European courts for offenders and it works.) Unpleasant, surely; but better than committing adultery, homosexuality or incest.”

Chaim Levin told PinkNews.co.uk today: “Many people have told me we should ignore people like Rabbi Levin, but this time he shot at me personally by responding to my article. This time I said I’m sick and tired of these people. The public may not be listening to Rabbi Levin, but they are hearing him.

“It’s enough for one gay teen to hear what he says and consider committing suicide. I find it deplorable that people would call him a rabbi. He’s a bigot, he’s extremely dangerous, hurtful and reckless and it’s about time the public started telling him this is not OK.”

Rabbi Levin is well-known for his anti-gay views; his blog describes Mitt Romney as a “dangerous homosexualist”.

Rabbi Ariel Friedlander, co-convenor of the Jewish LGBT forum Keshet UK, told PinkNews.co.uk: “The Torah tells us that every human being is made in the image of God. Homosexuality is not a disease, it is how God made me. There are Jewish communities, rabbis and groups who behave in the image of God in that they love and respect every human being. This is not a disease or any kind of illness, this is part of human nature.”

Rabbi Levin’s attack comes during ongoing debate about so-called ‘gay cures’. The chief rabbi of Amsterdam’s Orthodox Jewish community was recently reinstated after accepting he should not have signed a ‘gay cure’ declaration with his official title. A north London Jewish School, JFS, was criticised for showing students a slide about ‘gay cure’ organisation Jonah in a lesson about homosexuality. In response, ex-students, including PinkNews.co.uk founder and Channel 4 News correspondent Benjamin Cohen recorded ‘It Gets Better’ videos about being Jewish and LGBT.

In her column in the Daily Express last week, Ann Widdecombe questioned the lack of availability of therapy for “gays who do not want to be gay”.

Lord Carey, the former Archbishop of Canterbury, said ‘gay cure’ attempts do not “produce harm despite the Royal College of Psychiatrists and others maintaining the contrary”.

Chaim Levin blogs at http://gottagivemhope.blogspot.com/ and tweets at @chaim89

Here you can hear people speaking proudly of themselves as being Kurdish, of their identity, culture and language. It is both ancient and modern, an oriental city enclosed by magnificent Roman walls and beyond the new Ofis district city beaming with social and cultural life. The Turkish military is always omnipresent, and mentioning Diyarbakir to most Turks in Istanbul will raise a few eyebrows and strike up negative images of street clashes, the PKK (the Kurdistan Workers’ Party which has been in an armed struggle with the Turkish state since 1984) and protests.

The LGBT community in Diyarbakir struggles for space and recognition and the local organisation, Hebûn does its best to help. There are no bars or cafes that are specifically aimed at gay or trans people. Instead the organisation formed small social groups to meet at members’ homes. This is done to avoid the frequent discrimination and harassment in the mixed venues. Hebûn aptly means ‘to reappear, to come back into existence and life’ in Kurdish, and this group indeed plays a vital function here.

Hebûn is trying to find an office space and desperately seeking funding from various NGOs and LGBT organisations in the west of Turkey. So far they have had no success. Privately funding an office space is problematic because most openly gay, bi and trans people are forced into limited employment options such as sex work, although some have managed to run their own small businesses.

We attended a screening of the much-celebrated Zenne Dancer. The film tells the (real) story of Ahmet Yildiz, a young Kurdish gay man who left Diyarbakir to Istanbul to live his life honestly and openly only to be murdered by his father for ‘shaming’ the family. The cinema was packed full with people standing on the aisles for lack of space. The film touched the audience in Diyarbakir deeply.

We interviewed Arif, one of the founders of Hebûn who did not wish to give his second name, and started by talking about the film.

‘There was a piece of us in each of the characters,’ he said. ‘I am in the same situation as Ahmet Yildiz: If I was honest, I would be killed by my family.’

When did the Hebûn group come into being?

Hebûn LGBT was founded in March 2010, when the previous group in the area, Hevijn disbanded. Hebûn is different from Hevijn because we are more proactive in our political activism. We currently have around 30 active members, and we are looking to raise the awareness, both locally and nationally of LGBT. We had some media coverage about our work and have taken part in the Istanbul Pride march last summer.

What are main issues that you think are affecting the lives of LGBT Kurds?

When Turkish LGBT have one problem, Kurdish LGBT will automatically have two. Your identity is rejected twice, and you have to fight for both your ethnic and sexual identity. We must gain acceptance from the LGBT community for being Kurdish, and from the Kurdish movement for being LGBT. Neither want to fully support us, although we support both ourselves.

How is Hebûn LGBT funded?

We are funded by our transgender members’ work in the sex industry and from our personal funds. Although we have applied for various funding grants from Istanbul and Ankara, nobody has accepted our application and we haven’t heard anything from anyone.

Is there any risk to you personally, being one of the founders of Hebûn?

Yes, most of us have homes raided by police, thinking we are sex workers. The police are often abusive to us and we have no legal support from any organisation.

There is also the risk that our families will find out about us and our work. None of us are ‘out’ to family members, and we are constantly trying to hide our real selves from them. The younger members sometimes have to stay with friends as to escape from their families. My father would kill me if he found out that I’m gay, he’s a very religious man who has lived in Saudi Arabia for many years.

Does Hebûn LGBT have a Kurdish nationalist agenda also?

No, we are not a nationalist organisation, although sometimes their (Kurdish political parties) objectives run alongside those of our own, against the Turkish authorities. There is little awareness of LGBT rights within the Kurdish nationalist movement. We are also connected with several Iraqi Kurdish LGBT activists and organisations, and we help them in contacting groups throughout Turkey, as they do with us in Baghdad and Iraq.

Are you aligned with any other local groups, such as women’s rights groups or children’s associations?

Yes, and we have found this to be very positive. Some of our members work with local and national women’s rights groups, and sexual health advocacy organisations. We have found that there’s a lot of support, and more acceptance from within the women’s rights groups.

Would you consider making a publication in Kurdish, detailing your work, and local/national LGBT news, such as Hevijn did in the past?

We are looking to do this, although it’s very difficult to find the funding. Our first priority is to find an office space from which to base ourselves, and have a free STI center within this. We hope this will become a reality soon.

Do you think that the majority of LGBT Kurds from the south-east migrate to bigger cities in the west of Turkey?

I’d say that around 90% leave Diyarbakir and other Kurdish areas to live more openly life in Istanbul, Izmir or Ankara. But we won’t go, we want to live in our city and have a free life, so we will stay and fight for it.

There isn’t anywhere to openly socialise in Diyarbakir, and the authorities are always putting pressure on sex workers and effeminate people in the city. The biggest problem is that trans people are very limited in their work options, especially in such a conservative environment.

Watch the trailer for Zenne Dancer below:

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.

Openly gay agent Todd Krim had tweeted about Cruise’s team, the New England Patriots, losing at the Super-Bowl.

Cruise reportedly publicly wrote back to Todd Krim: “That was a gay a** f*****g tweet… You don’t say shit like that about my team the second they lose. Low.”

Krim. who had been helping actor Tom Cruise’s adopted son get DJ gigs, then wrote back: ‘Ummm ok Dude I was f**king joking.”

He reportedly wrote a public email saying: “I am no longer working with Connor Cruise.

“In fact, I am no longer speaking with [him ...] I refuse to be professionally (or even personally) associated with someone that engages in this sort of behavior.”

But the storm had blown over yesterday when he tweeted: ‘Everyone @theconnorcruise apologized to me for his texts which I accept so the matter is closed as far as I’m concerned. Let’s move on!’

Cruise was not the only sender of an ill-judged Super-Bowl tweet. Roland Martin has been suspended by CNN for his tweet about smacking a man who enjoyed David Beckham’s underwear advert.

Connor Cruise is one of two children adopted by Tom Cruise and Nicole Kidman during their 1990-2001 marriage.

Parents and Friends of Ex-Gays & Gays (PFOX) says it aims to “eliminate negative perceptions and discrimination against former homosexuals”.

A PFOX spokesperson said the official’s comments amounted to illegal discrimination on grounds of sexual orientation.

Montgomery School Superintendent Joshua Starr had been urged to stop the group from distributing the ‘ex-gay’ flyers which said such people “demonstrate that those with unwanted same-sex attractions can seek help and information on overcoming their feelings.”

Superintendent Starr said the school was legally bound to allow the group to spread their message, as it is with all non-profit organisations, even though the group’s message that sexuality can be changed is rejected by medical professional bodies.

He reportedly told students: “This group has figured out how to use that law to spread what I find to be a really, really disgusting message, frankly.”

The group distributed 8,000 flyers at five Montgomery County schools this week.

Regina Griggs, executive director of PFOX said: “We call on the Montgomery County Board of Education to enforce its Nondiscrimination Policy and censure Starr immediately.

“The Policy mandates that schools provide ‘an atmosphere where differences are understood and appreciated, and where all persons are treated fairly and with respect in an environment free of discrimination and … abuse.’ Clearly Superintendent Starr has violated the Board’s Policy.

“Starr’s verbal abuse, disrespectful behavior, and slurs against the ex-gay community amount to hate and illegal sexual orientation discrimination, which are all forbidden by the Policy.”

The group Truth Wins Out wrote an open letter to Starr saying: “While non-profit literature must not be blocked based on viewpoint, it can and should be prohibited if it contains blatant misinformation that jeopardizes the health and well being of students.

“The PFOX flier easily fits this description and the group has a dubious history that includes bizarre and bigoted practices that have no place in your public school system.”

Truth Wins Out is the group which infiltrated the clinic of former presidential candidacy hopeful Michele Bachmann’s husband, Marcus Bachmann.

The school board wrote back: “Although we cannot stop the distribution of such fliers, we in [Montgomery County Public Schools] are committed to promoting values of diversity and acceptance in our school system by teaching students how to distinguish between legitimate and illegitimate information.

“Please rest assured that we in Montgomery County Public Schools are always extremely receptive to the community and towards promoting a culture of the twenty-first century.”

PFOX’s website says the “demonisation” of ex-gays “is a sad end to the long struggle for tolerance by the gay community. That ex-gays and their supporters are now oppressed by the same people who until recently were victimized themselves, demonstrates how far the gay rights movement has come.”

So-called gay cure treatments have been making headlines on both sides of the Atlantic.

In her column in the Daily Express last week, Ann Widdecombe questioned the lack of availability of therapy for “gays who do not want to be gay”.

She argued that if a gay person wants to change their sexuality, professional help should be available to them, despite there being no scientific evidence for it and numerous medical bodies’ warnings against it.

Lord Carey, the former Archbishop of Canterbury, backed the appeal by Lesley Pilkington, who was found guilty of malpractice by the British Association for Counselling and Psychotherapy last year.

He wrote to the BACP, which is hearing the appeal, with other bishops to say that ‘gay cure’ attempts do not “produce harm despite the Royal College of Psychiatrists and others maintaining the contrary”.

A regional Jewish paper prompted outrage after publishing an opinion piece on the issue which said while ‘gay cures’ may not always work, medical procedures fail and “patients are still encouraged to try them”.

It said democratic processes required that it be debated, but that it was not part of the country’s legislative agenda to pass it.

Uganda already criminalises gay acts with a penalty of life imprisonment, but it is understood the bill would expand the range of punishable offences.

David Bahati’s bill, described by Barack Obama a “odious”, originally called for the death penalty for “aggravated”, or continued, homosexuality.

AP reports the death penalty clause has now been removed. In its place is life imprisonment for a person convicted of a gay act more than once.

The bill further required the death sentence for anyone convicted of homosexuality who is living with HIV or who has been convicted of homosexuality before.

Attempted homosexuality would carry a seven year prison sentence, as would aiding or abetting acts of homosexuality.

A fine of up to 500,000 shillings (£135) or a prison sentence up to three years are included for people who are aware of any gay offence but do not report it within 24 hours.

The Ugandan government statement said: “As a parliamentary democracy the process of debate will continue.

“Whilst the government of Uganda does not support this bill, it is required under our constitution to facilitate this debate.

“The facilitation of this debate should not be confused for the government’s support for this bill.”

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.

The applicants lost their case after the court found Sweden had not violated their rights to free speech.

The National Youth leaflets said homosexuality was a “deviant sexual proclivity”, had “a morally destructive effect” on society and was responsible for the spread of HIV and AIDS.

They also claimed the “homosexual lobby” was trying to play down paedophilia.

In 2004, Tor Fredrik Vejdeland, Mattias Harlin, Björn Täng and Niklas Lundström had handed out about a hundred leaflets or left them in the lockers of pupils at a school in Söderhamn.

They were asked to leave by the principal and later convicted under Swedish law of agitation against a national or ethnic group.

Exhausting domestic courts, they appealed to the ECHR on Article 10 of the European Convention of Human Rights, that their rights to free speech were infringed and, under Article 7, that they were therefore unjustly punished. The court rejected both claims.

It found the statements constituted serious and prejudicial allegations about gays and that the group had effectively forced them on students by leaving them in personal lockers.

The first three applicants were given suspended sentences and fines ranging from approximately €200 to €2,000 and the fourth applicant was sentenced to probation.

In January, three British men were found guilty of distributing leaflets intended to stir up hatred on the grounds of sexual orientation.

Five Muslim men had stood trial at Derby Crown Court on the newly-created charges, which carry a maximum sentence of seven years in prison and an unlimited fine.

Ihjaz Ali, Kabir Ahmed and Razwan Javed had distributed a leaflet entitled ‘The Death Penalty?’ outside their mosque ahead of a gay Pride parade. It contained an image of a mannequin hanging from a noose and quoted Muslim texts. They are due to be sentenced tomorrow.

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.”

The law would take effect 90 days after the governor Christine Gregoire signs the bill. But opponents have vowed to fight gay marriage with a ballot measure, similar to California’s Proposition 8 that would give voters the opportunity to overturn pro-gay legislation.

Yesterday, the US 9th District Court of Appeals found that Proposition 8 broke the United States constitution. Although the court has jurisdiction over a number of states, including Washington, its decision was limited to California.

Before the state legislature’s session began this year, Governor Gregoire announced her support for the move at the capital, Olympia.

She told a press conference: “It is time in Washington state for marriage equality. It’s the right thing to do.”

“Our gay and lesbian families face the same hurdles as heterosexual families: making ends meet, choosing what school to send their kids to, finding someone to grow old with, standing in front of friends and family and making a lifetime commitment.

“For all couples, a state marriage license is very important. It gives them the right to enter into a marriage contract in which their legal interests, and those of their children if any, are protected by well-established civil law.”

Last week, she posted a video message to YouTube where she said: “As governor, I believe the state of Washington cannot be in the business of discrimination. As an American, a wife and mother, marriage equality is fair, just, and right. And it is time.”

Coffee giant Starbucks has been among multi-nationals based in Washington state to back the draft legislation.

A statement from the Seattle-based hot drink titan says it was “proud” to join other Washington-based employers like Microsoft and Nike as support for equal marriage brews in the state.

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.

But reports say the city legislature has now approved the delayed second reading of the bill 31 to 6 and reportedly increased fines tenfold.

St Petersburg would join other Russian regions including Ryazan and Arkhangelsk in hindering the promotion of homosexuality in public.

The region of Kostroma recently approved a similar law and Moscow is rumoured to be considering such a move.

Russian activist Nikolay Alekseev was fined by the authorities in Arkhangelsk this week under that region’s rules forbidding the public “promotion” of homosexuality to minors.

Russia’s second largest city came under international condemnation last year for plans which would “silence” the gay community, and to treat the offence of public promotion of being gay in the same was as it punishes the promotion of paedophilia.

263,000 people have now signed All Out’s petition against the city law, a petition which drew attention to similar laws in other regions of the world’s largest country.

A second reading of the bill was indefinitely postponed in November 2011 but has now gone ahead, passing with overwhelming support.

Ria Novosti reports that the law now makes the offence punishable by fines of up to 500,000 roubles, ten times the amount tabled in November.

After a third and final reading, the bill would be signed into law by the city’s governor.

In November, Konstantin Dolgov, the Russian Foreign Ministry’s Commissioner for Human Rights, Democracy and the Rule of Law, said he was “perplexed” by a US statement condemning the proposed law.

He said the US State Department’s comments were “incorrect”.

Interfax reported him as saying: “We are perplexed by the American side’s attempts to interfere in the legislative process in Russia, especially publicly.

“We consider these attempts inappropriate and inconsistent with the practice of interstate relations.”

The UK’s Foreign Office had described the draft law as “wrong” and “mistaken”.

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. 

Organisers Romance Writers Ink said they do not condone discrimination and recognised the new rule in their More Than Magic 2012 competition about gay entries was “highly charged”.

The rules had stated the competition would “no longer accept same-sex entries in any category” of the romance-writing contest.

The competition was to offer a grand prize of up to $495 (£310) and works could be entered in a range of romance categories including paranormal, historical and ‘sensual contemporary’, so long as the romance was heterosexual.

Author Kari Gregg described to the Guardian the response she received after asking the organisers to explain the rule: “RWI chapter members were uncomfortable with accepting same-sex contest entries. ‘Same-sex was just too much.’”

“The arrogant presumption that their behaviour was OK infuriated me as a professional, who (reasonably) expected her work to be considered with the same courtesy and respect afforded to every other romance book, but also as a parent of a LGBT young adult.

“Both the professional and the parent responded with an immediate, ‘how dare they?’”

A statement on RWI’s site says: “After much consideration, RWI regretfully announces the MTM Published Author Contest has been cancelled. All monies and books received from entrants will be returned as soon as possible.

“We have heard and understood the issues raised, and will take those concerns into consideration should the chapter elect to hold contests in the future.

It adds: “Please note: our contest coordinator, Jackie, is a chapter member who graciously volunteered to collect entries and sort by category. It is unfortunate that she has become the object of personal ridicule and abuse.

“We recognize the decision to disallow same-sex entries is highly charged. We also opted not to accept YA [Young Adult] entries. We do not condone discrimination against individuals of any sort.”