Jonathan Wicks and Neil Warner, both 21, were sentenced last week at Reading crown court for the attack on squatter Kieran Dulai on April 24th 2008.

Dulai suffered an hour-long ordeal during which he was sprayed with detergent and had a ceramic vase smashed over his head.

Getreading.co.uk reports that his former lover Wicks was jailed for 12 months for assault, and additionally two months for criminal damage and two months for theft, both to run concurrently.

Warner received an 18-month jail sentence for assault occasioning ABH. His pregnant girlfriend, Kim Marrero who was also present at the attack, was acquitted of assault and criminal damage.

The MP, who plans to retire at the next general election, told Sky News: “It’s vital that the reputation of Parliament be restored with the public and the Speaker will play a major part in that.”

“I would not stand at all if I didn’t think I had some good support, and if I didn’t think I had support from both sides of the House,” she said. “I’m satisfied that I’ve got that.”

She added that she planned to stand as an interim speaker, saying that if a general election were to be called in 2010, she would have “the best part of a year” in the role before retiring.

Former foreign secretary Margaret Beckett also joined the race, making nine MPs in total hoping to succeed Michael Martin.

Martin was forced to resign for mishandling the crisis over MPs’ expenses. His exit statement lasted 33 seconds.

Widdecombe has previously voted very strongly against equal gay rights and government plans to allow unmarried and gay couples to adopt children.

In 2000, she said gay lifestyles did not have “equal validity” with heterosexual relationships. She later dismissed the first Conservative LGBT summit as “misguided”.

Will, who did not want to give his full name, has been living as a man for the last two years.

He told The Age: “I’m just an ordinary guy who wants to play football, just with slightly different circumstances of how I came to be a guy.

“I thought, well, if fat blokes who are in their 40s are playing football, surely I can. The only thing stopping me is other people’s prejudice.”

Following a meeting with Victorian Country Football League (VCFL), he was given the go-ahead to join one of their clubs. He hopes to join the Bendigo football league, one of the oldest in Australia.

For insurance purposes however, he will have to legally amend the gender on his birth certificate to male. Under Victorian law, trans men must have their female reproductive removed in order to be legally recognised as male.

To avoid Will encountering abuse on the pitch, Glen Scott, the VCFL president, has pledged to educate players about trans issues.

Will says he does not want to be treated any differently, joking: “There might be a bit of resentment there, particularly if I turned out to be better than one or two players.

“They would probably hold that against me because they’d be thinking, ‘God, he doesn’t even have a penis and he can kick the ball better than me.”‘

He will be the most senior officer from the force to join the parade and will be marching in full uniform with officers from across the UK on August 1st.

Marshall said: “For the last two years, Hampshire Constabulary has been praised in the Stonewall Workplace Equality Index for our commitment to both LGB staff and communities.

“As a display of this commitment and show of solidarity, it’s therefore right that we are involved in Brighton Pride. The presence of police officers marching at these events has always been well received by LGBT communities and I have given permission for my officers to once again do so in full uniform.”

Last year, assistant chief constable David Pryde marched in the parade with more than 90 officers and staff from forces across the country.

Johanna Korhonen was fired from Finnish daily paper Lapin Kansa last year after less than a month in the job.

Yesterday, her claim for 230,000 euros (£196,931) in damages for discrimination was rejected by a judge at Helsinki district court, who ruled the publication had not discriminated against her.

She was also ordered to pay 8,000 euros to cover her former employer’s legal fees.

The case received much coverage in the Finnish media, with President Tarja Halonen saying she was shocked by the claims.

In October 2008, the Labour Protection Office ruled that the decision to dismiss Korhonen on the basis of her being in a relationship with a woman was unjust discrimination.

While Korhonen argued she had been fired because her partner was a woman, Lapin Kansa said her contract had been terminated because she had given misleading and incorrect information regarding her partner’s political activities.

Her partner was a candidate for the local council in the city where the newspaper is based. The couple said she suspended campaigning when Korhonen was appointed as editor.

After the hearing, Korhonen said she was shocked at the court’s decision to reject her claim for damages. She now plans to appeal in a higher court.

Peter Davies, an English Democrat who was elected last week, was grilled on his controversial policies in an interview with BBC Radio Sheffield on Monday.

He has also said he will cut back on “politically correct” jobs such as diversity officers and reduce funding for translation services for non-English speakers.

Struggling to competently answer presenter Toby Foster’s questions, he squirmed when asked about the contribution Doncaster Pride makes to the town’s economy.

Foster said: “So how much did… how much was it worth to Doncaster?”

Davies said: “How…er, what?”

Clarifying, Foster replied: “The gay Pride march. Eight thousand people in town for a day.”

Davies said: “I don’t know. They can still come. There’s nobody stopping them coming.”

Foster continued: “So you don’t know what it costs, you don’t know what it earns, but you’re banning it?”

Scrambling for an answer, Davies said: “I’m saying that… hard-pressed taxpayers’ money should not be spent on promoting any type of sexuality whether it’s straight or gay.”

Foster argued: “But for all you – but for all you know it could be making a fortune for the town – you don’t know, you’ve not even looked at it.”

Appearing to abandon the argument, Davies said: “Well, it, er… it may, it may or it may not, I’m telling you what I’m not doing, and again it was on the manifesto, it was quite clear people appeared to like what I was saying.”

Davies is a member of the English Democrat party, which proposes to end multiculturalism and political correctness. He was quizzed about the promise in his manifesto to cut translation services for non-English speakers and when asked whether this was illegal, his response was: “I dunno….again, I’ve got to find this out.”

Pressing his point, Foster said the plan was illegal under human rights laws, adding: “So what was the point of your manifesto? You might as well have said you were going to fly to the moon if you’re just going to say now that you can’t do it.”

After more grilling on the likelihood of jobs being lost as a result of his policies, Davies said: “Okay, I’m stopping this interview, it’s a complete waste of time, er, you’re not asking any sensible questions, and er, I really don’t want to continue.” He then apparently hung up.

Davies was due to appear on Gay Radio UK this morning but pulled out, saying he was too busy. His office would not confirm whether the interview was to be rescheduled.

Instead, it released a statement from him saying: “I must be very clear that my party and I are not homophobic or racist or hold any extremist views. The English Democrats believe that public money should not be spent on parades that promote one section of society. That doesn’t mean to say that the English Democrats are against homosexuals as we most certainly are not and we will be delighted to see the gay and lesbian community in Doncaster.”

Click here to listen to the BB Radio Sheffield interview, which starts at 01:57.

After weeks of speculation, the star confirmed he is gay in an interview, adding: “I don’t think it should be a surprise for anyone to hear that.”

He told Rolling Stone: “I’m proud of my sexuality. I embrace it.It’s just another part of me.”

Lambert’s flamboyant clothes and make-up had earned him the name ‘Glambert’ over the course of the series and had caused much talk over his sexuality.

Some critics suggested his homosexuality had lost him the winning place in American Idol to his devoutly Christian rival Kris Allen.

However he wanted to wait to confirm the rumours. “Right after the finale, I almost started talking about it to the reporters, but I thought, ‘I’m going to wait for Rolling Stone, that will be cooler,” he said.

The singer added he did not want to be seen as a poster boy for the gay rights movement, saying: “I’m trying to be a singer, not a civil rights leader.”

The sessions will begin on Wednesday June 17th from 6.30pm to 8.30pm in Ladbroke Grove and run each subsequent Tuesday for seven weeks.

Group leaders will discuss topics including nutrition, exercise and how to manage taking your HIV drugs and balancing your daily life.

Gordon Mundie, groupwork co-ordinator at THT, said “These workshops aim to help gay men manage their HIV and minimise the impact it has on their lives. There’ll be opportunities to share personal experiences, ask questions and raise any issues you’d like to discuss. The groups are really relaxed and informal so if you think you might benefit, then please sign up to come along.”

For further information call 020 7812 1773 or email groupworklondon@tht.org.uk.

The party won two seats in the European elections last week, its biggest political success to date. Party leader Nick Griffin won one seat in the north-west region, while the other went to Andrew Brons for Yorkshire and the Humber. The BNP will now receive £4 million of public funding.

Speaking to the Guardian, Gavin Millar QC, a specialist in election and discrimination law said: “An unincorporated association like the BNP which has genuine screening for membership cannot unlawfully discriminate. There will inevitably now be legal challenges to this.”

Millar added: “A black or Jewish candidate who applied and didn’t get the job on grounds of their racial or religious background would have a claim in the employment tribunal.”

The BNP’s constitution currently states membership is “strictly defined within the terms of … ‘indigenous Caucasian’ and defined ethnic groups emanating from that race”.

Legal experts say that the party could be regarded as a members’ club. A recent Lords ruling said these do fall within anti-discrimination laws.

The receipt of public funds also makes the BNP open to employment law: “If an individual challenges and they maintain a practice not employing any visible minority people, there is no doubt that like any employer who has such practices, they can be sued,” said employment barrister Peter Herbert.

“When they are in receipt of public funds they will have to be an equal opportunities employer. To do otherwise would be incompatible with public office.”

Herbert continued: “I can see the equality commission mounting an inquiry into how the BNP operate now. The office of public standards could also inquire.”

Regarding the possibility of criminal convictions, he said: “Any policy which incites racial hatred will be liable. Twelve years after Stephen Lawrence this is a sad place to be.”

Griffin was forced to abandon a press conference outside the Houses of Parliament earlier today when he was pelted with eggs by protesters.

An angry crowd surrounded his car chanting “Off our streets, Nazi scum”.

LGBT rights campaigner Nikolai Alekseev told GayRussia.ru: “We want to express our solidarity with US gay activists who are planning similar protests in Washington DC, Chicago and other cities in the coming months.”

He praised developments since Obama took office, but added that the next step was legalising gay marriage.

In May, a lesbian couple attempted to obtain a marriage licence at the city’s marriage office. As expected, their request was denied but they now plan to marry in Canada and exploit a legal loophole in Russian law on marriages abroad which does not state gender.

However, the campaigners will have to seek permission from the city authorities to stage the picket on July 7th. Alekseev said that it was “highly unlikely” that they would be granted the right to protest outside the US Embassy in Moscow after the banned Slavic Pride march last month.

Andy Thayer, a member of Chicago’s Gay Liberation Network, feels the picket will be a strong reminder to the US leader following his election promises to do more for gay rights.

“Since President Obama has backed away from his campaign promises to LGBT people in the US to repeal the Defence of Marriage Act and ‘Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell’, we are grateful that our gay and lesbian friends in Russia are continuing to raise these human rights concerns during the president’s visit to their country,” he said.

The singer said: “Its tragic when you lose faith in everybody that’s a politician.

“It seems to me there’s nobody you can trust in the British system at the moment and that’s a horrible thing. I’m so disillusioned with politics in Britain.”

His comments on the expenses scandal are in stark contrast to those made by broadcaster Stephen Fry.

Fry called the public outcry over the exposed claims “revolting”, adding: “There’s nothing worse than the British in one of their fits of morality.”

Sir Elton has also spoken out on the AIDS crisis in the last few weeks, attacking world governments for their failure to address the epidemic.

Speaking at the 2009 BIO International Convention in Atlanta, US, the star said he was moved to start up his own AIDS charity after feeling guilt at not speaking out during the 1980s, when a number of his friends were killed by the disease.

The other, in Yorkshire and the Humber, was won by Andrew Brons, a former National Front chairman.

This is the first time the party has won seats in a national election and also the first in a parliament or assembley.

Politicians from all three major parties had urged voters not to express their anger over the expenses scandal by voting for minority parties such as the BNP.

Griffin told the BBC Radio 4 Today programme: “There’s a huge amount of racism in this country, overwhelmingly it is directed towards the indigenous British majority, which is one reason we’ve done so well in these elections.

There was no direct comment made with regards to the gay community, however the BNP publicises its policy of tolerance to homosexuality in private, but states that it “should not be promoted or encouraged.”

The far right party will receive a £4 million boost to its income following its success in Brussels.

The party’s gains success was met with disappointment by mainstream politicians, with equalities minister Harriet Harman saying: “I think it’s a terrible thing that we’ve now got representing Britain in the European parliament a party that is a racist party, a party that doesn’t believe black people should even be allowed to join this party.

“What extremist, far right, racist parties like the British National Party do is that they exploit people’s fears and if people are worried about their future they turn inwards.”

Tory leader David Cameron said: “It is desperately depressing. It is obviously a depressing day, for all of us.

“The BNP are completely beyond the pale. what the mainstream parties have to do is prove their worth, get on the doorstep, explain to people how we are going to take up their concerns, how we are going to respond to their issues.”

Last month, PinkNews.co.uk exclusively reported that the BNP had drawn up a list of politicians from all three main parties describing a number of gay MPs as “buggers” and “criminals”, grouping them with convicted paedophiles.

The online list, titled “Liars, buggers and thieves”, featured Labour MP Chris Bryant, who had semi-nude photos of himself from Gaydar published by a tabloid newspaper several years ago.

Other MPs featured included Labour MPs Ron Davies and Clive Betts. Neither Bryant, Davies or Betts have ever been convicted of any criminal offence.