Veteran gay rights campaigner and Member of the European Parliament Michael Cashman has called for same-sex marriage equality in a new video.

Openly gay Cashman became a household name as an actor in EastEnders. He went on to help create Stonewall, Britain’s leading lesbian, gay and bisexual campaign organization before becoming an MEP. He now heads the European Parliament’s LGBT rights group.

Britain was revealed as the gay rights capital of Europe, according to the first study of its kind to be published on Tuesday (15 May).

The European International Lesbian and Gay Association Europe (ILGA-Europe) index, which rates 49 countries on more than 40 categories, rated the UK as the top country for gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender people to exercise their legal rights.

Britain allows same-sex couples to obtain a civil partnership, apply for joint adoption, and discrimination based on sexual orientation is prohibited.

The Queen did not mention gay marriage once in the state opening of UK parliament today, sparking disappointment among LGBT rights groups.

In a speech hailing the importance of family and uniting in a time of austerity and difficult times, Queen Elizabeth II’s state opening of parliament focused on fiscal issues.

As part of the same sweeping reforms as modernising the House of Lords, it was expected by human rights groups the Queen would discuss gay marriage.

Out gay actor and author Stephen Fry is the latest high profile figure to record a Proud2Be video.

Several gay politicians, celebrities and organisations have uploaded Proud2Be videos to combat gay-shame and encourage all LGBT people to be proud of who they are.

'Part of life to learn what to be ashamed of and what to be proud of,' said British gay comedian Stephen Fry. 'I won't ever apologize for being born the way I was and feeling the way I do.'

Gay fans of legendary Ice Cream maker Ben and Jerry’s can get a chance to thank them personally for their recent support of gay marriage as they embark on a major UK tour.

And you can say thank you in the best way imaginable - by devouring some of their latest flavors. The Core Tour 2012 will be distributing thousands of tubs as vans visit 18 different cities across the country.

They’ll be popping into shopping centres, offices and universities to offer you a taste of their new, ethical, Fairtrade range which combines two flavors in one tub.

Around 16,000 people in the UK with historic convictions for consensual gay sex will be able to apply to have them erased.

The Protection of Freedoms Act formally became law today (1 May) after it received Royal Assent.

John and Sally Bercow will be joining hundreds of Stonewall supporters on the ninth annual Equality Walk on 6 May in the southern English seaside city of Brighton.

The 10k walk raises funds for Stonewall’s Education for All program, which helps schools tackle homophobia so they’re safe and supportive for children from all families.

A pro-gay marriage film showing a British soldier returning home and proposing to his partner is released today.

The short feature from campaign group the Coalition for Equal Marriage hopes to drum up support for the British government's plans to legalize same-sex marriage.

Gay and bisexual men are more likely to smoke, drink, take drugs, self-harm, attempt suicide and be depressed – but they’re often overlooked by health services.

That’s the damning verdict of a survey by Stonewall into the health of gay and bisexual men in Britain – the biggest study of it’s kind in the world.

Their report out today (25 April) found that 3% of gay men and 5% of bisexual men have attempted suicide in the last year alone – by comparison to just 0.4% of men in general.

Spectrum, the LGBT staff network at banking giant Barclays, has launched its own mobile app to help staff keep up with the latest.

The British banks gay workers can use it to access details of upcoming events, news and links to Spectrum’s social media presence on Facebook and Twitter.

Until now Spectrum, a 10-year-old staff network, has seen most of its membership coming from the bank’s largest office hubs in London’s Canary Wharf, Northampton and Radbroke in Cheshire.

Gay Star News has become the 200th entrant to the Stonewall Equality Walk and we’d love you to join us.

Our team will be taking part in the 10km walk on 6 May in Brighton, the gay capital of the south coast of England, which supports the work of Stonewall, Britain’s leading lesbian, gay and bisexual campaign organization.

The candidates for London mayor faced a grilling from gay voters today (14 April) at a mayoral debate hosted by Stonewall.

The current Conservative mayor Boris Johnson, his Labour predecessor Ken Livingstone, the openly gay Liberal Democrat Brian Paddick, and Green party candidate Jenny Jones sat in a packed theatre to answer questions from the public.

The debate was chaired by chief executive of the UK-based LGBT charity Stonewall Ben Summerskill as candidates hoped to gain votes for the election on 3 May.