THEGAYUK

Tag: UK

  • DUP “not homophobic” just traditional

    The leader of the DUP, Arlene Foster, has taken a swipe at the criticism and backlash launched at her party for its anti-gay equality policies.

    Arlene Foster has defended her party’s policies on LGBT+ equality, after a huge online backlash formed when it became apparent that Prime Minister Theresa May would need to do a deal with the DUP in order to maintain some kind of majority in Parliament. Nearly one million have signed petitions of no-confidence in a deal between the Conservatives and the DUP.

    Embed from Getty Images

    Ms Foster yesterday had a meeting with the UK’s Prime Minster, Theresa May.

    Theresa May’s gamble to hold a snap General Election to fortify her party’s stronghold in government backfired spectacularly last week leaving her party fewer less seats than they needed in order to form a majority government.

    Speaking on ITV News the DUP’s leader, Ms Foster said they were not homophobic but they “take a particular view in relation to the definition of marriage”, she described the backlash as “hyperbole”.

    The Northern Irish government have failed to legalise gay marriage 4 times, with the DUP being the main obstruction to equality. Northern Ireland remains the only place in the UK which does not allow gay couples to marry. It does, however, have civil partnerships.

     

     

  • RESTAURANT REVIEW | Dirty Bones, London

    ★★★★ | Dirty Bones, London

    Dirty Bones the restaurant categorises itself as New York comfort food and cocktails, well it’s that and more.

    With four locations in London, including Kensington, Carnaby Street, Shoreditch, we popped into the new West End location (on Denman Street right next to the Piccadilly Theatre – home of ‘Annie’) to find comfort, and we did find it, in the food, drinks, service, and the atmosphere.

    Looking a bit like a 1960’s den with old world chic decor, the restaurant is one big room with a beautifully designed industrial bar in a space that used to be Clockjack Chicken.

    Well, the smell of chicken is gone, so what you will find now is a menu with a great selection of food choices (including, yes, chicken) and strong drinks that will make you forget your troubles.

    As a starter, we went for the Cheeseburger Dumplings. Hamburgers and cheese in a dumpling (and not bun) with spring onions, sesame seeds, and pepper, with a clever mustard/ketchup combination sauce – and at £8.50 for a handful, not a bad value.

    We really didn’t know what to expect our main meals would look like. I went for the Short Ribs on the Taco menu. It was one very large slab of beef short rib with excellent BBQ sauce that comes with gluten-free corn tortillas to build your own taco. You can also stuff the taco with the salad that’s served with it – it’s white cabbage slaw, tomato, coriander, chilli and jalapeños – very delicious and unique, and a great deal at £16 considering how much beef is served. We also shared 200 grams (£8 per 100g) of the Rib-Eye Steak, and the meat was perfectly cooked medium well, and served with a delicious butter and mint sauce. As sides, we could not resist the Grilled Hispi Cabbage dish – it was superb! Two large portions of Charcoaled cabbage with herb and garlic butter with crispy shallots made for an unusual yet awesome dish. I’ve never eaten cabbage this way and it was superb (only £5). We also ordered the Crispy Lamb Fries (only £6.50). It was a huge dish of fries (chips) smothered in red chilli sauce and jalapeños – it was an extremely spicy dish but what made it amazing was the well-cooked, crunchy and plentiful lamb – I could almost taste it again in my mouth – and is one of the best deals on the menu (it could be considered as a main course perhaps).

    By this time we had eaten so much food but our lovely waitress Andrea twisted our arm to order dessert, so we shared the Caramelised Banana Waffles, and we were glad we did. A freshly backed waffled topped with chocolate sauce, blueberry jam, salted peanut butter gelato and crushed nuts – it was out of this world, and a very nice ending to an excellent meal (£7).

    Comforting as well are the drinks. If you’re in the mood for strong cocktails, Dirty Bones is the place for you. Their six-page drinks menu won’t leave you feeling thirsty at all. I had the Dirty Bones Negroni – it came with a twisted orange slice, was rainbow colour, with a hint of rum and was nice and flavorful (£9);. I also had a taste of my dining companions’ Littlest Hobo drink – Tanqueray gin, lemon, passionfruit and vintage cider made for a refreshing drink (£9). And to finish off the evening we tried the Mutt’s Nuts drink – a very strong Woodford Reserve bourbon, with cinnamon and vanilla-infused maple syrup, it may knock your socks off. Good to drink on a full stomach.

    A visit to Dirty Bones will leave your tummy feeling happy but it may also leave you feeling a bit light headed and dizzy after choosing one of their lethal drinks. But as it says on the tin, the food is indeed comforting, the prices are comforting, and do not hold back on what your stomach and mouth want – it’s all good!

    To book a table, please go to their website:

    http://dirty-bones.com/book-a-table

    Automatic online booking below for 1-6 guests. Space always kept for walk-ins

    Soho branch:
    14 Denman Street, London, W1D 7HJ
    Tube: Piccadilly Theatre

    Email: soho@dirty-bones.com

    Other branches in Carnaby Street, Shoreditch and Kensington
    Phone: 020 7920 6434

    Price Rating: £££ (explained)

    Star Rating: ★★★★

  • COMMENT | Tory and DUP? Not so much a Coalition of Chaos but a Partnership of Peril

    Right now my eyes are tired and my heart is heavy. I stayed up all night Thursday, watching until the early hours as the results rolled in. The exit poll told us we’d get a hung Parliament but I was willing it not to be true. The votes rolled in and it all became clear; Theresa May had failed but so had Jeremy Corbyn. Let’s get this absolutely straight; Corbyn has revolutionised the Labour Party and has mobilised a generation, but he should not be taking this a win. Labour lost. Conservatives lost. Now Britain has lost.

    It’s probably easy for me to be accused of being dramatic but I had outlined clearly my views on why Labour were the right choice. But it needs to be unequivocally clear; what we’ve ended up with now is dangerous and terrifying for LGBT people. Theresa May has decided to get into bed with the DUP. This is not so much a Coalition of Chaos but a Partnership of Peril.

    But why? Let’s look at the anti-LGBT viewpoint of the DUP. In 2005, during a Hustings event, one of their candidates said “You don’t bring a child up in a homosexual relationship. That the child is far more likely to be abused and neglected.” The DUP at the time said that Jim Well’s views were not their policy but just look at First Minister and DUP leader Arlene Foster. The Irish Government were poised to lift, by a minority, the ban on Gay Marriage. Arlene Foster introduced a Petition of Concern. This is a controversial mechanism in the Irish Assembly which means that, if submitted, proposed legislation must receive at least 60% of the vote and 40% of Nationalists and Unionists must also be present to vote. Arlene Foster knew this would kill the Pro-Same Sex Marriage legislation out of the gate.

    That’s just their leader in Northern Ireland. Their representative in Westminster proposed an introduction of a “conscience clause” in the Equality Act 2010 to allow businesses to turn away LGBT people on religious grounds. This man is a Party hero.

    And what about Equality elsewhere? The DUP played a vital role in continuing to restrict Abortion Rights in Northern Ireland. The DUP are anti-abortion even if the woman has been raped, a victim of incest and even if the foetus won’t survive the birth. This is despite a Court ruling which said the ban was against Human Rights.

    So here we are now with Theresa May who has publicly declared she would “rip up” the Human Rights Act and increase surveillance on the Internet. Sure, I am all for doing our best to battle against Islamic Extremism and Radicalisation online but you know exactly what’s going to happen. They’ll start asking Internet Service Providers to keep a database of our search and browsing history. These databases will inevitably be the target for hackers resulting in millions of people’s private searches being released. What about those in the closet? And hell, what about those people that are into the kinky side of sex? I can see it now; teachers and doctors, Police and Fire Officers being struck off after their private and intimate lives are leaked online. LGBT people hiding in fear of being exposed. You only have to look at the recent TalkTalk hack to know how lax ISP security can be.

    This is why we need to get over our heartbreak and sadness about this election and actually do something. We need to mobilise even more. I do not want to hear nonsense about Jeremy Corbyn and his leadership dominating the Labour Party for the next ‘x’ amount of months. The Labour Party must now focus on strong opposition. And we must join them. I will be re-joining The Labour Party and their efforts to oppose our Government. I will sign every petition and participate in every march because now is not the time for complacency. As we head into the Pride months as we celebrate by waving our flags, kissing our partners and living our free lives we must remember the activists of our past. They did not lay down their lives for us to stay behind our keyboards and allow our Government to steamroll over years of progress. And it isn’t enough for us to only turn up to LGBT events. Our country’s women will need us too.

    So I beg of you. Take this weekend to grieve the loss. Cry to your friends, ponder the future and hashtag your anger. But when it comes to Monday, it is time to clock back in. Your country needs you, your Community needs you, this world NEEDS you. We. Will. Rise.

     

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  • Theresa May reassures no erosion of gay rights in return for DUP support

    Theresa May has assured Scottish Conservative leader, Ruth Davidson, that there will be no erosion of LGBT+ rights in return for DUP support.

    Ruth Davidson, who is planning to marry her partner Jen Wilson, spoke to the Prime Minister about the issue of LGBT+ rights and told the BBC’s Reporting Scotland programme, “I was fairly straightforward with her and I told her that there were a number of things that count to me more than party, One of them is country, one of the others is LGBTI rights.”

    Ms May apparently gave a “categoric assurance” that any deal between the Conservatives and DUP would see “absolutely no rescission of LGBTI rights in the rest of the UK”.

    Ms Davidson also said that Mrs May said she would use her influence to advance gay rights in Northern Ireland.

    Northern Ireland is the last place in the UK to legalise same-sex marriage – with the issue being voted on four times.

    WHO ARE THE DUP?

    The DUP have earned themselves a reputation for being homophobic after voting against same-sex marriage four times.

    Theresa May looks to have negotiated with the DUP, who have 10 seats, in order to take their total number of seats up to 328, a majority of just two seats. However, the coalition will not be welcome news for many in the LGBT+ community has the DUP has run on a platform of conservativism which includes anti-LGBT equality and anti-abortion.

    During their campaigning and the release of their manifesto, the DUP failed to mention any pledges for the LGBT community.

    The party’s founder Ian Paisley spearheaded the Save Ulster from Sodomy in the 1970s, which was opposed to the decriminalisation of homosexuality in Northern Ireland, in fact, Northern Ireland was the last country within the UK to decriminalise homosexuality, which it did so in 1982. Paisley’s son, Ian Paisley Jr said that he was “repulsed” by homosexuality.

     

  • Petition urging Theresa May not to form DUP coalition reaches 110,000

    A petition of no confidence in a coalised Government between the Conservatives and the Democratic Unionist Party (DUP) has reached 110,000 in under 24 hours.

    Mrs May’s plans to form a Government with the help of the DUP is facing mounting pressure after a petition of no confidence was signed by 110,000 people in under 24 hours. Another petition has reached 380,000 petitioners.

    However, the DUP is a deeply unpopular party with certain segments of society due to their stances on LGBT+ equality, women’s rights and the environment.

    The Prime Minister was unable to secure a majority Government after the results of her snap election revealed a shortfall and overall lost in seats, winning only 318 seats. Propped by DUP’s 10 seats, Mrs May will have a majority of just two seats. The Conservatives did have a majority of five before the election.

    The petition is hosted on the change.org platform and it remains to be seen whether the cause will be debated in Parliament as per the rules, that any petition that surpasses 100,000 signatures will be considered for debate in Parliament. However, the official UK Government petitioning site is not accepting any new petitions as they are waiting for a new petitions committee.

    WHO ARE THE DUP?

    The DUP have earned themselves a reputation for being homophobic after voting against same-sex marriage four times.

    Theresa May looks to have negotiated with the DUP, who have 10 seats, in order to take their total number of seats up to 328, a majority of just two seats. However, the coalition will not be welcome news for many in the LGBT+ community has the DUP has run on a platform of conservativism which includes anti-LGBT equality and anti-abortion.

    During their campaigning and the release of their manifesto, the DUP failed to mention any pledges for the LGBT community.

    The party’s founder Ian Paisley spearheaded the Save Ulster from Sodomy in the 1970s, which was opposed to the decriminalisation of homosexuality in Northern Ireland, in fact, Northern Ireland was the last country within the UK to decriminalise homosexuality, which it did so in 1982. Paisley’s son, Ian Paisley Jr said that he was “repulsed” by homosexuality.

     

  • INTERVIEW | Pravesh Kumar – Placing British Asian Drag in the Centre of the Stage.

    Kinky Boots, Priscilla Queen of the Desert and La Cage Aux Folles. There are plenty of shows out there which involve men dressing as women, but there is only one show out there that looks at the subject from a British Asian perspective; “Miss Meena and the Masala Queens”. Looking at the challenges loves, lives and families of British Asian drag queens, director Pravesh Kumar boldly takes a subject which is seldom spoken about amongst the Asian community and places it squarely in the centre of the stage. Pravesh spoke to TGUK about family, heart and sparkle, Bollywood and becoming “fishy”.

    TGUK – Miss Meena and the Masala Queens is certainly unique; can you tell us about the show?

    PK – Without giving too much of the story away, it is about Miss Meena, a once famous and fabulous drag queen, who has lost his sparkle and glitter and who is running a washed up and out of date club. The club is about to close until a new arrival brings back a glimmer of hope, but the arrival of another stranger leads to Miss Meena questioning everything that he ever stood for. It is a joyous show about celebrating diversity and individualism. It is a British Asian story with real heart and sparkle, and most importantly, it is a story which has never been told before.

    TGUK – Was it a difficult show to get off the ground?

    PK – It has been in my head for a while but I wanted to wait until we were really ready to tell it. The LGBT British Asian story is one which is very rarely told, and so it took a long time to get the backers to put their weight behind it. Shows such as these are often seen as niche or too risky, so it did take a while to get the production up and running. A lot of these types of productions end up in small studio theatres, but we are proud to say that we have placed this production on the main stages of theatres.

    TGUK – How authentic are the stories you are telling?

    Originally, the idea for the show came from the fact that I have really wanted to tell this story for a long time. As a gay man, I have been on the gay scene for many years, so from my point of view, it was a really important story for me to tell. Harvey Virdi (the writer) and I were really excited about both the concept and the project. It was a very even collaboration between the two of us, and we spent a year interviewing drag artists, and we very quickly realised what the story would be about. In short, it all comes back to family and the meaning of family. A lot of the artists that we spoke to were people who had been disowned by their families because of their sexuality, so from very early on, we knew that that family would have to be one of the central themes.

    TGUK – How reflective of the British Asian community is the story?

    PK – What is really interesting is that different communities are at different parts of their “gay evolution”; the British Gay Asian community is still at the very early stages. There are other people within the community who are like me, and who are out to their family and friends, but we found that most of the gay men we spoke to were not out to their families. Even though this is a story which is difficult to tell, what really came through in our research was that there are a lot of younger and middle-aged people in the British Asian gay community who were not in touch with their families because of their sexuality. The show does talk about what are often seen as very taboo subjects, and about the experiences of some of the British Asian gay community, but the tone is light enough to get the British Asian communities and the gay communities to engage. There are families coming to the show saying “I would never normally come and see this type of show, but thank you for telling this story”. It is important to be having the conversation about the issues raised in the play and we wanted to make sure that we did not shy away from the truth, and not cover it up. We were really keen to produce a show which played to more than just the converted, we wanted to produce a show which would play to an audience who wouldn’t normally come and see things like this. There is a large gay contingent in our audiences but also a very big Asian family audience coming to see it, so it is really opening up the issue of homosexuality and cross-dressing in the Asian community

    TGUK – How did you involve the Gay community in your preparation for the piece?

    PK – We initially did some work with a well-known British Asian drag queen, who really helped us to get into the Gay community and that led to this being a story which really does come from the heart of the community.  Whenever we do new writing, we try to make sure it is organic and truthful. We have to speak to the people whose story we are telling.  We were trying to find the real truth of the people who were kind enough to talk to us, not just to engage with them on a superficial level.

    TGUK – There are a number of plays doing the rounds at the moment about drag or cross dressing, what makes Miss Meena different?

    PK – It is a play about the human story behind the glam, and it is about people who just happen to be drag queens. It is an untold story of a community which is never really seen on theatre stages. Some of it is Bollywood drag, and that is really unique in itself, but it is more than that, it is also telling a story about something which is part of someone’s personality. The drag is not just cabaret; it is how the characters express themselves as individuals. Whilst the show is entertaining, the sequins and saris are not there just for entertainment or novelty value, it is an intrinsic part of the characters being portrayed.

    TGUK – The show has a number of show stopping Bollywood moments, what do you think is the enduring appeal of Bollywood?

    PK – Bollywood is larger than life, an over the top kind of effervescent musical format that most British Asians are in love with. It’s a really lovely way of expression – just about every drag queen that we saw were inspired by Bollywood Queens. Bollywood is just so colourful, glamorous and sparkly.

    TGUK – Were you tempted to use live singing rather than lip-synching in the show?

    PK – we wanted to stick with the lip syncing, as all of the British Asian drag queens lip-synch – that’s the reality. Whilst the cast of the show can all sing, we wanted to be true to the story we were telling. The musical numbers really are a hugely entertaining and were great fun to put together.

    TGUK – Is there a difference between the British Asian drag queen performances compared to the western drag queen performances?

    PK – I think that there is. Western drag queens often camp up their performances, but with the British Asian scene, the guys are female impersonators, so I think that there is a big difference between British drag and British Asian drag. British Asian drag queens present themselves as essentially female impersonators; they present themselves as being very beautiful, very decadent and inspired by Bollywood, they are not going for the “man in female clothes” look, the parody of people in the public eye or the comedic element of drag, they are trying to look as “fishy” as possible, which is the British Asian drag term for looking as feminine as they possibly can.

    TGUK – Can you sum up the play in three words?

    PK  – I would have to say heartfelt, funny and sparkly.

    Miss Meena and the Masala Queens is playing at West Yorkshire Playhouse, Leeds from the 13th to the 17th June 2017. For details and tickets, visit www.wyp.org.uk .

  • A petition has already formed over a Conservative and DUP coalition

    A petition stating no confidence has already gone live over a coalition between the Conservatives and the DUP.

    A petition of no confidence has emerged over a coalition of the Conservatives and the DUP.

    The Conservatives have failed to achieve an overall majority in the General Election, securing 318 seats. A party needs 326 seats in order to have a majority.

    Theresa May looks to have negotiated with the DUP, who have 10 seats, in order to take their total number of seats up to 329, a majority of just three seats. However, the coalition will not be welcome news for many in the LGBT+ community has the DUP has run on a platform of conservativism which includes anti-LGBT equality and anti-abortion.

    The DUP have earned themselves a reputation for being homophobic after voting against same-sex marriage four times.

    Lorraine Carter who created the petition writes,

    “The UK electorates have spoken. The Conservative majority has been lost. The PM stated through all her campaging for strong and stable, not for a Coalition of Chaos. Once again another U turn. This petition shows no confidence in this coalition make up.”

  • Theresa May to make a deal with one of most homophobic political parties in the UK

    Theresa May looks set to make a deal with the Democratic Unionist Party (DUP) who have consistently voted against LGBT+ equality.

    ARLENE FOSTER: the DUP leader.

    The DUP have earned themselves a reputation for being homophobic after voting against same-sex marriage four times.

    The Conservatives have failed to achieve an overall majority in the General Election, securing 38 seats. A party needs 326 seats in order to have a majority in the UK.

    Theresa May looks to have negotiated with the DUP, who have 10 seats, in order to take their total number of seats up to 328, a majority of just three seats. However, the coalition will not be welcome news for many in the LGBT+ community has the DUP has run on a platform of conservativism which includes anti-LGBT equality and anti-abortion.

    During their campaigning and the release of their manifesto, the DUP failed to mention any pledges for the LGBT community.

    The party’s founder Ian Paisley spearheaded the Save Ulster from Sodomy in the 1970s, which was opposed to the decriminalisation of homosexuality in Northern Ireland, in fact, Northern Ireland was the last country within the UK to decriminalise homosexuality, which it did so in 1982. Paisley’s son, Ian Paisley Jr said that he was “repulsed” by homosexuality.

    Many historic senior DUP figures have attracted criticism for a variety of homophobic remarks. In 2015 Health Minister Jim Wells claimed children brought up in same-sex relationships were more likely to be abused or neglected; he was forced to resign shortly thereafter and the police investigated his remarks.

    In 2008 the wife of then-First Minister Peter Robinson, Iris Robinson, recommended conversion therapy and called homosexuality “disgusting, loathsome, nauseating, wicked, and vile.” 

     

     

  • What The 2017 General Election Result Could Mean For The LGBT Community

    What. A. Night.

    Defying all expectations, Jeremy Corbyn increased the number of Labour seats in the House of Commons as Prime Minister Theresa May lost her majority, leading to a hung parliament and casting doubt on Mrs May’s future as the Conservative Party leader. Right now she looks like she’s hanging on by the skin of her teeth, looking to do a deal with Northern Ireland’s Democratic Unionist Party.

    This is bad news for the LGBT community. The DUP is promising to “make its influence felt” in Westminster. We should all be concerned.

    Back in 2015, I wrote about what a disaster a Tory-DUP coalition would mean for us. The DUP is deeply homophobic; they’ve blocked same-sex marriage in Northern Ireland at least four times and laid down as a “red line” marriage equality as a condition for forming a stable government at Stormont with Sinn Fien, the nationalist and pro-gay marriage party.

    That the DUP is so anti-gay that they’re willing to send Northern Ireland into political turmoil over the issue of marriage should concern everyone. Theresa May looks to form a government propped up by their 10 MPs, and this could mean a hard stop to any progress the LGBT community has made.

    The majority of Tory MPs voted against equalising marriage in England and Wales. When the Conservatives passed mandatory personal and sexual health education earlier this year, they omitted education about LGBT people and issues, despite the fact that Education Secretary Justine Greening is an out lesbian. The Tories themselves don’t have the best record of LGBT equality.

    So put them with the DUP, we can expect a real halt to any progress we’ve made over the past 20 years. Whilst education and marriage are devolved issues in Northern Ireland, the party is so deeply homophobic that it’s easy to imagine the Tories not bringing up equality votes for as long as the DUP is the linchpin in their government. Why risk losing your tenuous majority over an “identity politics” issue? Beyond that, though, the Tories are unlikely to push the DUP to enhance and equalise the rights of the LGBT community in Northern Ireland – the last legally homophobic holdout in the British Isles.

    This becomes even riskier considering Theresa May’s commitment (that wasn’t in the manifesto, by the way) to scrap human rights laws – notably the Human Rights Act – which protect LGBT rights. This is ostensibly to combat terrorism at home, but has implications for LGBT equality (for example, in the armed services). Whether the Tories would let the DUP dictate which LGBT rights protections are enshrined in UK law as we transfer EU law to our domestic books is an unknowable. But considering how much of a red line it is at Stormont (after all, they’re willing to jeopardise Northern Ireland peace to keep gay people from marrying), it’s deeply concerning.

    The Tories don’t have a good record on LGBT equality, no matter how you cut it. Yes, David Cameron introduced equal marriage, but it only passed because of Labour and Liberal Democrat votes. The Conservative Party has improved, but it’s not at the level of “ally” yet. That they’re considering going into coalition with the DUP jeopardises LGBT rights in Northern Ireland and, indeed, England and Wales as EU laws which protect us are written into British law.

    The news of the night isn’t all bad, though. Whilst some gay MPs – such as Tory Ben Howlett, who I interviewed last month – lost their seats, we look set to have at least 30 LGBT MPs in the next parliament. Gay candidates such as Wes Streeting and Peter Kyle increased their majorities, whilst Mhairi Black and Justine Greening clung on with reduced majorities – is welcome news for the community. I don’t have an exact count on how many LGBT candidates were elected, but I hope to do so by this evening.

    In the meantime, the LGBT community – like the rest of the country – waits with bated breath to find out what is going to happen to the country we love. No one knows the answer. If Theresa May does hang on, though, it is incumbent upon her to put the LGBT community’s welfare beyond her own desire for power and to make sure any deal, including with the DUP, does not sacrifice the progress we have made – or the victories we are yet to win.

  • Gay couples can now get married in Scottish churches

    The first major Christian church, the Scottish Episcopal Church, has voted to allow gay marriage in its venues.

    The Scottish Episcopal Church has become the first Christian church in the UK to allow same-sex marriage in its Churches, Clergy will not, however, be forced to officiate at those marriages if it goes against their conscience.

    The move means that gay Christians from any Anglican Church will be able to marry in the Scottish Episcopal Church.

    The amendment to canon law on marriage, which removed the stipulation that marriage is only between a man and a woman, was carried by the Synod in Edinburgh.

    Seventy-four percent of the General Synod voted for the motion.

    Clergy who wish to officiate at same-sex marriages will have to “opt-in” under the rule change.

    The Episcopal Church’s Bishop of Edinburgh, The Right Reverend Dr John Armes, said,

    “I am very pleased for the couples who can now have their relationships recognised by the church and blessed by God.

    “I’m also pleased for what this means about our church and the way we have been able to do this. But obviously any change like this creates pain and hurt in some as well, so as a bishop of the church I feel for them.”

     

     

  • Mother of Martyn Hett has been trolled since his death

    The mother of a man who was killed in the Manchester Bombing has spoken about she has been trolled since the death of her son.

    Speaking to LBC the mother of Martyn Hett, Figen Murray, has spoken about how she and Martyn’s stepfather, Stuart Murray, have been trolled by online cyber bullies since the death of her son. Ms Murray told LBC’s James O’Brien that they had received messages via social media questioning whether she was actually grieving the loss of her son because she didn’t appear to be more angry in public. She said that despite that she was seen smiling in public, her “heart is bleeding” over the death of her son.

    Last week she appeared at a memorial for Martyn and told the crowds that her son was an  “iconic diva”. She also thanked everyone for their messages of love and support since his death. She also called the family’s liaison officers “absolute angels”.

    She said that she was never going to go down the route of hate or anger for whoever was responsible and the goodness that she’s seen since his death had “by far outweighed the darkness”.