Benjamin Cohen founded PinkNews.co.uk in 2005 and was editor until 2006. He was technology correspondent at Channel 4 News between 2006 and 2012.
Twitter: @benjamincohen-
5 May 2006Gay councillor loses seat after alleged homophobic campaign by Labour 3 The gay Liberal Democrat councillor who was the victim of an alleged homophobic campaign by the Labour party has lost his seat in Lambeth, south London.Lambeth Labour posted an article written by the South London Press on their website last month which claimed gay Liberal Democrat councillor Charles Anglin was posting naked pictures of himself on the internet. -
5 May 2006Reshuffle: Alistair Darling in charge of gay policies 21 The current Transport secretary, Alistair Darling has been moved to become Trade and Industry (DTI) secretary. He now has overall responsibility for the Women and Equality unit together with the implementation of the Civil Partnerships Act as well as the introduction of the Equality Bill later this year.The new of the Trade and Industry secretary will therefore wield a huge impact on the lives of lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgendered (LGBT) community. -
5 May 2006New cabinet ministers Reid and Beckett under immediate pressure from gay community 21 PinkNews.co.uk ExclusiveThe newly appointed Secretaries of State for the Home Office and for the Foreign Office have immediately been put under pressure to improve the lives of gay people both within Britain and abroad.Speaking exclusively to PinkNews.co.uk following the appointment of John Reid and Margaret Beckett to the roles of Home secretary and Foreign secretary respectively, veteran gay rights campaigner Peter Tatchell called on them to put the rights of gay people at the forefront the of their agenda. -
5 May 2006Anti-gay candidate pushes Lib Dems into last place in Newham + The anti-gay Christian Peoples' Alliance (CPA) candidate for the mayor of the London Borough of Newham, Alan Craig has pushed the Liberal Democrat candidate into last place in the elections held yesterday.Mr Craig came a surprise fourth in the poll with 6,559 votes against Anwar Hussain's 2,886 votes.The election was won by the incumbent Labour mayor, Sir Robin Wales. -
5 May 2006A pink day for the Greens in Lewisham + The Green party in Lewisham are today celebrating after winning six seats on the council in South London. Half of the new Green councillors are openly gay.The party topped the poll and gained all three seats in two wards, Brockley and Ladywell. Darren Johnson, Romayne Phoenix and Dean Walton, Mike Keogh, Sue Luxton and Ute Michel overturned Labour majorities to score a victory for the relatively small party. -
5 May 2006Greens in the pink in Lewisham + The Green party in Lewisham are today celebrating after winning six seats on the council in South London. The victors include a gay couple who were jointly elected to the Brockley ward.The party topped the poll and gained all three seats in two wards, Brockley and Ladywell. Darren Johnson, Romayne Phoenix, Dean Walton, Mike Keogh, Sue Luxton and Ute Michel overturned Labour majorities to score a victory for the relatively small party.
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5 May 2006Government gay rights department to headed by Opus Dei member 21 PinkNews.co.uk ExclusiveContrary to earlier reports, the Womens and Equality unit will no longer be run under the auspices of the Department for Trade and Industry (DTI), it will now be headed by a member of the controversial Opus Dei religious sect.The unit is responsible for the implementation of the Civil Partnerships Act as well as the introduction of the Equality Bill. -
3 May 2006Gay couple hope to be elected as councillors together + The first gay couple to marry in a civil partnership in Birmingham, England are hoping to be the first gay couple to be jointly elected as local councillors.James and Brynn Tudor became the first gay couple in Birmingham to marry last year and they are now both standing as Liberal Democrat candidates in the elections that take place tomorrow. The former is standing for the Chelmsley Wood and later for the Kingshurst and Fordbridge ward. -
3 May 2006Almost half of gay Dubliners are victims of homophobic crime + Almost half of gay Dubliners claim to have experienced either verbal or physical abuse due to the sexuality according to a report published by the government's Equality Authority.41 per cent of the thousand people questioned in the capital, Dublin said that they had been the victims of a homophobic hate crime, defined as "s "any physical or verbal attack where the victim is primarily targeted because of their perceived sexual orientation." -
3 May 2006Gay doctor paid patient £12,000 after masturbating him 1 A gay doctor has been cleared of sexually assaulting and putting a patient into a trance in his surgery. He paid the man "damages" over a two year period.51-year-old Dr Lewis Dickinson who is a GP in Camberwell, south London was accused of sexual assault by a 61-year-old Ghanaian man who can not be named for legal reasons. -
1 May 2006Boyzone star suffers homophobic abuse 2 Former Boyzone star Stephen Gately says that he has suffered homophobic attacks in Canterbury, Kent.The 30-year-old gay star who married his partner Andy Cowles in a civil partnership ceremony is currently staring in a stage version of the Wizard Of Oz at Canterbury's Marlowe Theatre.Gately said: "Canterbury is beautiful and I loved it." -
1 May 2006Will Young voted most popular music act of all time + Gay pop star Will Young has beaten the Beatles, Robbie Williams and Coldplay to be named the most popular British artist of all time in a poll of radio listeners.The 27-year-old came out as gay shortly after winning the first Pop Idol contest in 2002. He beat fellow British artists to top the poll of the 40 most popular artists by listeners of commercial radio. -
1 May 2006Australian Big Brother star was victim of homophobic attack + It has emerged that a star in the Australian Big Brother who outed himself last week live on the reality television series was beaten unconscious in an alleged homophobic attack earlier this year.The 26-year-old model, David Graham, who came out as gay last week is the early favourite two win the sixth series of the Australian version of the hit tv show.He was brutally beaten by a gang of five men and left for dead in a pool of his own during the early hours of 22nd January. -
1 May 2006Moscow gay club night cancelled following attack + Homophobic protesters hurling eggs and bottles have forced a gay club in Moscow to cancel what was billed as the city's largest gay and lesbian party.Police were forced to intervene when at least 100 skinheads, fascists nationalists and elderly Christian fundamentalists clutching Orthodox icons descended on the club at 10pm (6pm GMT) last night. -
29 April 2006Police forced to intervene in Polish gay rights march + Riot police have been forced to intervene in a march for gay tolerance held in the Polish city of Krakow after counter demonstrations from members of far-right youth groups.Police officers reported that several arrests have taken place after members of the rightwing All Poland Youth Group threw stones and eggs at the participants of march for tolerance. -
28 April 2006Care assistant tells tribunal he was sacked for being gay + A care assistant from Blakenhall, Wolverhampton has told an employment tribunal that he was unfairly sacked from caring for the elderly because he is gay.Sean Williams is seeking damages from the Woodhaven residential home where he worked caring for those suffering from Alzheimer's disease and dementia. He claims that he was sacked after a years service without his employers carrying out a disciplinary or dismissal procedure. -
28 April 2006“God Hates Fags” church continues to make homophobic protests at military funerals 12 PinkNews.co.uk Exclusive FeatureA church in Kansas has continued its protests of funerals of soldiers killed in Iraq, claiming that their deaths are punishments from God for homosexuality.The Westboro Baptist church who run a website called GodHatesFags have protested at over 100 funerals of soldiers killed in the line of duty in Iraq. Their campaign is called "Thank God for Improvised Explosive Devices." -
28 April 2006Senior gay police officer claims he may be forced to quit post 1 Brian Paddick, the Deputy Assistant Commissioner, Britain's most senior gay police officer has said that he maybe forced to quit the force by the end of the year.The Pandora column in the Independent claimed that whilst attending a fund-raising party for Stonewall, Mr Paddick told guests that he had fallen out with the Commissioner of the Metropolitan Police, Sir Ian Blair. -
27 April 2006Graham Norton: “I’m too old to be attractive to gay men” 3 Camp television personality Graham Norton claims that he is too old to find love.The 43-year-old gay presenter of Strictly Come Dancing things that he's too ancient to be attractive to other gay men.He told Closer magazine: "People don't ever throw themselves at me. They come over and say hello but they're not going to waste time having sex with you when you're an older man." -
27 April 2006Dairylea owner will sponsor Gay Games + Shareholders in the makers of Dairylea, Philadelphia and Terry's Chocolate Orange have voted to continue to sponsor the Gay Games.Shareholders in the American company Kraft Foods who own a variety of brands in Britain and the USA were asked whether the company should drop its sponsorship of this summer's Gay Games.The issue was raised following a shareholder resolution calling for Kraft to cease sponsorship of the Gay Games and other gay events.
