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May 22, 2013
David Cameron: Marriage bill will help gay teens ‘stand taller’

UK Prime Minister has attempted to heal the rift in the Conservative party by saying marriage equality opponents are not 'bigoted'

UK Prime Minister David Cameron has said the equal marriage bill in England and Wales will help gay teens ‘stand that bill taller’ today.

The Conservative leader also attempted to heal divisions in his party by insisting marriage equality opponents were not ‘bigoted’.

April 29, 2013
Clare Balding gets BAFTA award for Olympics coverage

Lesbian broadcaster's coverage of the London Olympics and Paralympics has earned her a special award for television

Lesbian broadcaster Clare Balding is to receive a special award for reporting on the 2012 Olympic and Paralympic games at this year’s BAFTAs.

She is to be presented with an achievement award for factual presenting.

The BAFTA committee commended her work saying Balding has become a national treasure.

March 26, 2013
BBC radio journalist Evan Davis talks about coming out

Award-winning British economics journalist tells R U Coming Out about how he told the public and his parents that he is gay

Evan Davis is the first voice millions of Britons hear every morning, as one of the presenters and top-grade journalists on BBC Radio 4's Today program. His background in economics has helped the British public to understand the credit crunch, banking crisis and double-dip recession and he encourages wannabe entrepreneurs to pitch to the investors as presenter of Dragon's Den. 

Davis is also gay and is interviewed this month by online magazine R U Coming Out about how his sexuality has been accepted by himself, his family and the public.

February 26, 2013
Muslims debate gay people on the BBC

BBC Radio 4 program Beyond Belief features heated debate on Islam and homosexuality

An at times heated debate between a traditional Imam, a gay Muslim and an Islamic scholar on BBC Radio 4 yesterday shed light on the religious and ethical debates about homosexuality and Islam.

Imam Ibrahim Mogra said that it was possible to be Muslim and gay but 'our issue is with the sexual act itself' and 'physical intimate genital relationships between two people of the same-sex is wrong'.

Pav Akhtar, the director of UK Black Pride, said he thought the Koran 'very obliquely references homosexuality and it doesn't in my view assess homosexual negatively'.

February 14, 2013
X Factor's Lucy Spraggan to headline gay Student Pride

UK talent show singer-songwriter Lucy Spraggan has been confirmed to headline the LGBT student event at Brighton Dome Corn Exchange in March

X Factor star Lucy Spraggan has been confirmed as headline act at the Brighton Dome Corn Exchange for Britain's National Student Pride.

The English talent show star will perform as part of Student Pride's annual weekend of club nights, debates and live music on 1 to 3 March in the seaside city of Brighton on the south coast.

A number of other celebrity names have also been confirmed to appear at the event, including Dragon's Den and BBC Radio 4 presenter Evan Davies and former England Rugby Union international and World Cup winner Ben Cohen.

February 12, 2013
Clare Balding named among most powerful women in the UK

The list of the UK's 100 most powerful women was compiled by BBC Radio 4's Women's Hour

Lesbian broadcaster Clare Balding has been lited among the most powerful women in the UK for 2013.

Also nominated is Britain's poet laureate and lesbian Carol Ann Duffy.

The Women's Hour Power list, compiled by a judging panel from BBC Radio 4, was topped by Queen Elizabeth II.

It was only ranked from one to 20, with Balding and Duffy among the 100-strong list.

February 5, 2013
National Student Pride to return to Brighton

The annual event, featuring a host of celebrity guests, will give students the chance to socialise, debate and party

The Brighton Dome will play host to the return of National Student Pride on 1 to 3 March.

The annual event, supported by Gay Star News, will feature live music, club nights, a question time panel and a debate on homophobia in sports, giving students the chance to socialize, debate and party.

Organizers hope students from across the UK will spend the weekend in the seaside city of Brighton on England's south coast for the event.

February 1, 2013
Clare Balding to host new sports chat show

Lesbian broadcaster who won hearts while presenting at the Olympics and Paralympics will front her own chat show

The sports and television presenter who won British hearts while hosting the London Olympics and Paralympics will host a new sport chat show.

Clare Balding, a lesbian broadcaster, will host a weekly program featuring interviews, debates and chat about the latest news in sport.

She said: ‘I’d like to thank BT for giving me the opportunity to present my own magazine show.

November 30, 2012
Rock Hudson play to raise money to fight HIV

'Rock and Doris and Elizabeth' will raise money for Terrence Higgins Trust

A stage reading of a play about the life of Rock Hudson will be performed to raise money to fight HIV.

The play, first broadcast on BBC Radio 4 earlier in the year, was written by Tracy-Ann Oberman, with all proceeds from the night going to the Terrence Higgins Trust.

The play, ‘Rock and Doris and Elizabeth’, explores the friendship between Hollywood star Hudson and friends Doris Day and Elizabeth Taylor, and the media frenzy surrounding speculation of Hudson’s health - which was later confirmed to be AIDS-related.

July 5, 2012
Labour hosts faith group summit to support gay marriage

The Labour Party has warned the UK government not to ignore gay marriage at a meeting of faith groups backing the cause

British political party Labour chaired a meeting where representatives of Quakers, Unitarians and Jewish groups debated their views on gay marriage yesterday (4 July).

The left-leaning party said their backing shows a range of views among faith groups and does not condemn opposition.

The meeting follows the coalition government closing the 12-week consultation on gay marriage on 14 June, with the legislation expected for 2015. 

July 3, 2012
BBC bias: How faith gets extra airwaves

Does the BBC really stand for Believers Broadcasting Christianity? Garry Otton says it does as ‘Auntie’ gets ready for her 90th birthday

After a court ruled that local councillors in Britain weren’t entitled to pray at taxpayers’ expense, our UK state broadcaster, the BBC interrupted the news on BBC Radio 4 to have turbaned Sikh, Lord Singh, accuse the National Secular Society (NSS), who brought the case against the councillors, of losing the spirit of ‘live and let live’.

March 5, 2012
Now Cardinal O'Brien likens gay marriage to slavery

Cardinal Keith O'Brien, Catholic leader in Scotland, claims gay marriage is a violation of human rights

Cardinal Keith O'Brien, the leader of the Catholic Church in Scotland, has sparked outrage after likening gay marriage to slavery, claiming it is a violation of human rights.

The controversial comments were made on BBC Radio 4’s Today program this morning and follows an article by O’Brien in The Sunday Telegraph in which he described the UK government's plans for gay marriage as 'madness'.