So it is no surprise that in this modern age of sex and sleaze, he is experiencing something of a revival.

First, the BBC adaptation of his life starring a geeky David Tennant; now, the play written by controversial poet Carol Ann Duffy.

In this production by Told by an Idiot, Casanova is a woman who is imprisoned in Venice after a hilarious and acrobatic romp with a German monk.

She escapes from prison and flees to Paris, where she finds a sugar daddy in an elderly transgender Everyman.

Casanova betrays his trust by dallying with the cute but sexually naïve kitchen boy, and moves on again to England before she is caught by the looming shadow of a Venetian detective, mixing with the likes of Voltaire and Mozart along the way.

Men, women and even animals fall in love with Casanova, and although Hayley Carmichael is charming, the reasons for her magnetic wiles are not fully explained to the audience.

The Galliano-inspired extravagant costumes add to the beauty of this sometimes surreal production, as do the many languages.

Carol Ann Duffy’s distinctive prose sweats through the dialogue and narrative.

Disappointingly, Casanova’s experience is not much changed by the difference in her gender, apart from her mistake of a pregnancy (a plot twist that feels lazy and obvious).

Although the play can be amusing, there is no real depth, and the audience fail to make any real emotional attachment to fickle Casanova.

Keep your eyes peeled for the inevitable Casanova! The Musical, starring Russell Brand as Casanova and Stephen Fry as Voltaire. You heard it here first.

Casanova is running at the Lyric Hammersmith in London until 24 November.

And in an age where the vast majority of the population has only encountered The Lass that Loved a Sailor in a scene from The Simpsons where Sideshow Bob sings the entire repertoire in order to satisfy Bart’s last wish, the musical is in dire need of updating.

HMS Pinafore is a classic romance that combines humour with class struggle, themes that will always endear it to a cynical British audience.

Josephine, the captain’s daughter, falls in love with Ralph Rackstraw, a poor foremast hand, but her father intends for her to marry the First Lord of the Admiralty.

Somehow, Josephine and Ralph must find a way to be together; but when an old secret is revealed, their world is turned upside-down.

The Union Theatre’s version asserts itself as a tongue-in-cheek performance with an all-male cast.

The Union is a family-run theatre in Southwark that takes pride in debuting the work of new writers and directors, but by anyone’s standards, this camp musical is a fairly brave choice.

From the main characters to the ensemble, the entire cast have strong voices with incredible range. The vocal side of the musical is flawless.

The pervy, childish Sir Joseph Porter, played by Christopher Howell, is hilarious.

Actor Alex Weatherhill exceeds expectations by playing three female characters (Josephine, Cousin Hebe and Mrs Cripps) and by reaching notes higher than the crow’s nest.

But sometimes his many aliases can be confusing, especially because at just over an hour in length, the storyline moves quickly. Stop for a moment to adjust your eye-patch, and you’ll miss the vital plot twists.

The choreography is entertaining, but the stage of this tiny theatre is a little too restricting, and results in a near miss with an audience member nearly getting kicked by a ballet-slippered bosun.

Nonetheless, a bigger theatre would lose the magic of this performance, the key to which lies in the close proximity between beaming stripy sailors and the audience.

HMS Pinafore is showing at the Union Theatre in Southwark until August 12th. Tickets cost £8 to £12.

UNION THEATRE Union Street SE1 020 7261 9876

Tube: Borough, Cannon Street, Southwark.

Rail: London Bridge, Cannon Street

Bus: 21 35 40 133 149 344 P3 P11

The play revolves around two couples. Louis is a narcissistic and neurotic Jew, who lives with Prior, a WASP from a historic family that came off the Mayflower.

In the first act, Prior reveals that he has AIDS and has discovered a lesion.

Harper and Joe are Mormons who have fled Utah and Salt Lake City to find anonymity in New York.

Harper has descended into a genteel psychosis caused partly by too much valium, and partly by her suspicions regarding her husband Joe, who is clearly not sexually attracted to her… or any other women for that matter.

Throw into the melting pot a host of angels, hallucinations, discussions on race, democracy and theology, prophets and the apocalypse, and the play resembles the BBC’s epic adaptation of The Gormenghast Trilogy.

Just with neon lime-green eighties lampshades. The extremely fitting subtitle of the play is “a gay fantasia on national themes.”

Angels truly is an epic. Six and a quarter hours long without intervals (although the Lyric provide you with plenty, including a two-hour break between the two halves), the play is totally consuming, and can be exhausting.

After touring the country since April, the play has arrived at the Lyric in Hammersmith.

It is an ambitious play for the Lyric, who aren’t used to stunts such as pyrotechnics, strobe lighting, an abundance of smoke and perches from which angels descend. But they pull it off magnificently.

Scene changes are quicker than lubricated lightning, and props from the last scene are often left discarded around the stage.

This can be poignant; a discarded hospital bed has grave implications for what would otherwise be a cheerful scene.

The actors play a minimum of two parts each, although the multi-talented Ann Mitchell plays eight.

Every actor displays almost alarming versatility, but it can be rather confusing.

Obi Abili causes mirth and giggles as Belize, and is superb despite having just graduated from drama school.

Kirsty Bushell is a vulnerable and irritating Harper, but sometimes shouts too much.

Valium is a downer; does she really have to be so loud? Mark Emerson stars as Prior Walter, and manages to show every glittering facet of the part.

If you’ve got just enough cash for one theatre performance this season, go and see Angels.

With surrealism, special effects, laughs and tragedy, you get more than your money’s worth, and a life-affirming experience to boot.

Angels in America will be showing at the Lyric theatre in Hammersmith until July 22.

Two Men Talking starts in sweltering South Africa where Paul Browde and Murray Nossel are schoolchildren during Apartheid.

Their tale takes us takes us to New York and London, through their experiences of career struggles, coming out as gay and dealing with HIV and AIDS, and finally recalling their reunion in America.

Two Men Talking is about the power of storytelling, and is a story that has toured the world from Australia to Edinburgh, earning praise along the way from the likes of Archbishop Desmond Tutu.

There is no set-in-stone script; every performance, the play is subtly different, which means that the atmosphere of the night relies hugely on the reactions of the audience.

Do they gasp in surprise or flinch in fear at crucial moments?

The play is remarkably compelling, given the sparse set.

The plot is a series of stories, with the double-act calling on each other to help out like small children playing – “You be the teacher!”

The play lasts only 75 minutes, with no interval. Browde’s depiction of the school bullies is chilling, but hilarious, while Nossel’s facial expressions are worth the very reasonable ticket price alone.

Two Men Talking is at Trafalgar Studios, London, until June 23rd. Ticket prices range from £15 to £22.50.

Ms Blears made the comments following a survey by Conservatives Home, the unofficial Conservative grassroots website.

The survey claimed that a third of all Conservative activists would not attend a Civil Partnership ceremony – even if invited by a friend.

The Conservative Party have questioned the validity of a survey of this kind and say that there is no evidence that the respondents were party members.

A Conservative Party spokesman said: “Hazel Blears refers to an online survey conducted by the website Conservatives Home. This is not a survey of Conservative Party members.

“It is quite possible the survey was hijacked by Labour Party activists in an effort to discredit the Conservative Party. The survey in no way reflects Conservative Party policy or opinion.

“Hazel Blears demeans herself by using this website to attack the Conservative Party. It is ridiculous and shows why Hazel Blears is not up to the job of being Deputy Leader of the Labour Party.

“Hazel Blears should look at her own backyard, which she needs to get in order, before preaching to the Conservatives on diversity.”

The spokesperson quoted Labour run Salford Council as an example.

Of 20 Labour candidates in the 2007 local elections in Salford, 15 were male and five female. All 20 were of a white British ethnic origin.

Salford’s Labour Cabinet comprises of nine men and one woman.

There were 11 male Conservative candidates and nine women. The Conservative Party also had three ethnic minority candidates.

Salford’s Conservative Shadow Cabinet will be formally approved on Monday but will have five women (including the leader) and five men.

The spokesperson went on to say: “We have a number of Parliamentary Candidates who are gay. We are not a homophobic Party and for Hazel Blears to suggest so is not only wrong but deeply disturbing.

“Someone using such a speculative survey to antagonise and stir up difference is highly questionable and those who do so only discredit themselves.”

In a poll earlier this month by PinkNews.co.uk, 40 per cent of voters selected Sir Menzies Campbell as their Prime Minister of choice, 33 per cent David Cameron and just 27 per cent would vote for Prime-Minister-in-waiting Gordon Brown.

Mr Brown has on 14 separate occasions failed to attend the House of Commons when issues relating to gay equality were voted on.

He failed to support the government’s equalisation of the age of consent, the abolition of Section 28, gay couples being able to jointly adopt, civil partnerships and the Equality Act.

Hazel Blears responded: “It wasn’t Labour who introduced Section 28.”

Emma Hands, vice chair of Pride London said: “We’ve got some class DJs and some outstanding live acts.

“We are also delighted to welcome Pride London’s newest patron Zoë Lyons to make you laugh!”

Pride London Zoë said: “I love Pride London; it’s big, bold and beautiful. I am really looking forward to the gig, it’ll mean a lot to me to be a part of Pride London.”

The women’s stage will begin at 1500 and the full lineup is Lil’Jo, Lilth’s Army, Cautious (Freedom), comedian Zoë Lyons, Lea Andrews, Invocal, comedian Rosie Wilby, The Veez, Caz Coronel, Salt Petter, Sandra D, Low Fi Girl and Voodoo Hussy.

For more information on Pride London’s women’s stage please see www.myspace.com/pridelondonwomen.

The 39-year old man identified only as EB by police was arrested after he was found to have overdosed on drugs in a suicide attempt.

Karl Heinz Thonningen, 44, was stabbed to death at 0500 on Saturday after returning home from gay clubs in the popular Playa Del Ingles holiday resort.

Two ambulances attended the scene, but paramedics were unable to resuscitate him.

The victim had gone out for the night while his partner stayed in the hotel. Police have searched the area, but have been unable to find a murder weapon.

Police are treating the murder as a “crime of passion,” as no money was taken from the victim.

Police believe that EB killed Mr Thonningen in a jealous rage after finding out he was in a long term relationship.

A Foreign Office spokesperson said that the suspect had not yet asked for consular assistance.

In his paper for the United Methodist Church, Holsinger said that gay sex was dangerous because “When the complementarity of the sexes is breached, injuries and diseases may occur.”

As a member of the Judicial Council of the United Methodist Church, Holsinger voted to oust an openly lesbian member of the clergy in 2004.

The executive director of gay rights group Soulforce, Jeff Lutes said: “As the leading spokesperson for matters of public health, the Surgeon General should be guided by sound medical science, not anti-gay views rooted in religion-based bigotry.

Holsinger and his wife co-founded the Hope Springs Community Church, in Lexington, Kentucky, which operates an “ex-gay” ministry aimed at “curing” gay people and turning them into heterosexuals.

The American Psychological Association identifies “depression, anxiety, and self-destructive behaviour” among the possible risks associated with ex-gay therapies.

But Holsinger, 68, has been defended by the White House who claim that he is “a strong advocate for… all Americans.”

When he announced his preference for Dr James Holsinger as a candidate, the president said the physician would focus on educating the public about childhood obesity.

The Surgeon General of the United States is the chief medical official in the country, and the leading medical advisor to the government.

Dr Holsinger’s nomination must be confirmed by a majority vote in the United States Senate before he is appointed.

Turing famously invented the Turing machine and cracked the German Enigma code during World War Two, but sadly committed suicide after being convicted of having a sexual relationship with another man.

The Liberal Democrats are tabling an Early Day Motion, asking that the House “notes the vital contribution Turing made to the British War Effort… and regrets that… he received a criminal conviction for having a sexual relationship with another man.”

They will also ask the House to acknowledge “the huge and unnecessary suffering that he and so many other lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender people have had to endure over the years due to legislation.”

Lorely Burt MP said: “The anniversary of the death of Alan Turing is an important reminder both of how far we have come in regard to LGBT liberation and how far we still have to go.

“In the 1950s awful laws made the lives of LGBT people a misery and lead to the suicide of one of this country’s most brilliant thinkers. Although laws have changed, societal pressures still oppress and the LGBT suicide rate remains unacceptably high.

“We now need to focus of the causes of societal oppression, in particular through tackling homophobic bullying in schools.

Turing was awarded an OBE in 1945 for his wartime services to the Foreign Offices.

After he was convicted of engaging in gay sex, he was forced to take oestrogen hormones or go to prison.

The hormones were designed to decrease his libido, but had side effects including enlargement of the breasts.

Once he had been convicted, Turing was prevented from working on cryptology at Government Communications Headquarters.

He killed himself by eating an apple laced with cyanide on 8th June 1954.

However, Turing has received many posthumous awards. The computing world’s equivalent of the Nobel Prize, given each year by the Association for Computing Machinery, has been called the Turing Award since 1996.

The Early Day Motion is part of the Liberal Democrats wider campaign against homophobic bullying in schools.

Between 1999 and 2006, the number of treatment cycles for lesbian couples tripled from 300 per year to almost 1,000.

During the same time period, the number of treatment cycles undergone by single women only doubled.

But experts say that the biggest group of women leading the surge in vitro fertilisation are women of all sexualities aged 40-plus.

Almost 40,000 cycles of treatment were provided to these women in 2006, and their numbers increased by 15% in just one year.

Angela McNab, chief executive of the Human Fertilisation and Embryology Authority (HFEA), which published the figures on the occasion of the authority’s annual conference in London on Tuesday, told The Independent that the growth in demand from women over 40 was worrying.

She said: “Scandinavian countries are seeing the trend to delay motherhood even more markedly.

“It is a matter of concern. We may need to remind women about the biological clock and the difficulty of achieving pregnancy over 40.”

Currently, each NHS primary care trust separately allocates funds for IVF treatment. Any woman wanting to undergo IVF treatment will have to be assessed by a doctor who will do a child welfare assessment.

During that assessment, they will assess the child’s need for a father. They inspect the individual’s family structure and gay-friendly trusts will endorse the use of IVF where the child would have a strong male role model, such as an uncle or neighbour.

However, some NHS PCTs will veto the use of IVF in cases where they believe the child needs a father.

This legislation is currently under review by the Government.

The average cost of a cycle of treatment ranges from £4,000 to £8,000. A woman having three or four cycles, the average number needed before a woman conceives, faces a bill of at least £12,000 and up to £32,000.

Eighty-seven young men were originally arrested, and seventeen were held for “homosexual conduct” and drinking alcohol in a crackdown by Iranian police.

Amnesty International have said that they are not aware of any evidence that the men attending the party identify themselves as gay or were engaging in same-sex sexual activities.

Sixty of the men were released unconditionally, while 26 were released on bail.

It is not known whether the last man has been released.

The Iranian Queer Organisation believe that during their time in prison the young men had been tortured and kept in unacceptable conditions.

Last month PinkNews.co.uk reported how a witness as the time of the arrests, who would only describe herself as Peyman, described how “all my friends were arrested while seven or eight policeman beat them with batons.”

Arsham Parsi, the executive director of the Iranian Queer Organisation said: “Obviously this crackdown is yet another systematic violation of human rights, along with brutal suppression of womens’ movements in Iran and must be strongly protested by all human rights organisations as yet another violation of people’s private rights and liberties.

“This means that for now, what is urgently needed is to strongly object to this gross violation of human rights and the invasion of young people’s lives and dignity.”

Under the Islamic Shar’ia law followed in Iran, gay sex is illegal, as is any sex that takes place outside marriage.

The maximum punishment for adultery and gay sex is death, and teenage boys as young as 15 are eligible for the death penalty.

The 2007 Hate Crime Survey was released today by Human Right First, a leading human rights organisation, and also covers hate crimes based on race, faith and disability.

Maureen Byrnes, executive director of Human Rights First said: “The growing public presence of the lesbian, gay, bi-sexual and transgender community in many countries has resulted in a violent backlash.

“These crimes often go unreported because the bias and stigma against these groups remain high and many governments fail to offer sufficient protections for victims of anti-gay crime.”

The 2006 pride parade in Riga, Latvia is cited as an example, although the parade went ahead peacefully and protected by the police this year.

It says that homophobia is not only a problem for gay individuals, but also “for people thought to have gay attributes.”

The report finds that only ten countries in Europe and North America currently have laws which enable a sexual orientation bias to be considered an aggravating circumstance in the commission of a crime.

Only Canada, Sweden, the UK and the US have made a commitment to monitor homophobic attacks in their official reporting on hate crimes.

The report says: “Leaders of the gay communities in many countries charge that there is a serious underreporting of these crimes, due in part to anti-gay prejudices – both real and perceived – on the part of the police.”

The study urges governments to adopt stricter laws, provide more resources to law enforcement and establish official systems to monitor and report hate crimes on a regular basis.

Student Emily Parr, 19, was thrown off the show after she said: “Are you pushing it out, you nigger?”

The remark was directed at black contestant Charley Uchea, 21.

Channel Four apologised just days ago for the racist row on its Celebrity Big Brother series.

The newest exchange was not screened live and immediately reported to senior production staff, who removed Parr from the house.

Angela Jain, who heads Channel 4′s Big Brother commissioning team, said: “She [Parr] understands why her involvement in Big Brother has come to an end, and she very much regrets what she said.”

She went on to say: “”The word ‘nigger’ is clearly racially offensive and there

was no justification for its use. We have removed Emily from the house to once again make it clear to all housemates and the viewers at home that such behaviour won’t be tolerated.”

Parr had already been nominated for eviction.

Blonde, blue-eyed Parr wants to write for fashion magazine Vogue and went into the Big Brother house to find romance.

She is a supporter of the Conservative Party and is said to dislike “people who tell white lies, are ignorant or deliberately stupid”.

After a series of scandals over premium rate phone lines, Channel 4 have said that they will not make a profit from the phone votes. The channel and programme maker Endemol faced criticisms over the handling of previous votes. It will now cost 25p per vote.

On this year’s Celebrity Big Brother there was a mix up in the voting for one eviction and in last year’s a contestant was let back into the house, despite being voted out by viewers.

PinkNews.co.uk does not endorse racism or the use of abusive language.

The study of LGBT people was intended to establish their health needs. It covered sexual health, accessing services, drug use and alcohol.

It found that one third of respondents, both male and female, had not used any sexual health services in the last year, and nearly 40 per cent of males had never had an HIV test.

A spokesperson from the Terrence Higgins Trust said: “A third of people with HIV don’t know they have it, which is why it’s essential that anyone who thinks they might have been at risk of HIV goes to a clinic for a test.

“It’s estimated that as many as one in nine gay men in London have HIV. The best way to protect yourself against HIV and other sexually transmitted infections is still to practice safer sex and always use a condom.”

The survey also found that gay men and women in Bromley used nightclubs as the best place to access information, advice and support in regard to sexuality, and were least likely to get this information whilst in education.

The majority of respondents were openly gay and out to their friends, family and work colleagues.

Only 60 per cent of males and 40 per cent of females would report hate crime to the police.

80 per cent of males and 70 per cent of females drank alcohol, and nearly 100 per cent of respondents smoked, but had very little interest in giving up.

Across the country, gay men are more likely to smoke than their straight counterparts.

41% of gay men are smokers, a figure which soars above the national average of 25 per cent.

Researcher Adam Lott said: “The findings from this report…give us reason to be targeting work with this community in many ways and putting LGB health issues on the local agenda.

“Agencies and services do not always know how to or where to target their support services to a sometimes invisible community.

“Now we are able to let services know whether LGB people access their services and look at dealing with specific areas of health and respond to community issues.”

Mr Lott says that services such as Victim Support, drug and alcohol agencies and LGBT Liaison Officers in the borough are pulling together to engage with the community and fight homophobia.

The newly launched Bromley LGBT Community Forum is holding an event at local gay venue The Star and Garter on July 7 with entertainment from The Drag with No Name.

Yesterday the 69-year-old politician was moved to a high-dependency unit at University College Hospital, although his office insist that this is not because his condition is deteriorating but to allow closer monitoring.

In a statement, Mr Prescott’s spokesman said: “The Deputy Prime Minister’s Office has confirmed that the Deputy Prime Minister is suffering from pneumonia.

“He has been moved to a high-dependency unit, not because of a deterioration in his condition but so that his condition can be monitored more closely.”

He was taken ill on a journey between his Hull constituency and London.

There was some speculation that Gordon Brown, as the Prime Minister in-waiting would chair the Cabinet meeting today, as Tony Blair is attending the G8 summit in Germany.

But instead Jack Straw, Leader of the House of Commons, will take charge.

Downing Street have sent get-well wishes to Mr Prescott, who was well enough to talk to his wife on the phone this morning.

There was mild amusement in January when Mr Prescott revealed his exposure to gay men while working on a cruise ship in the 1950s.

Mr Prescott is suffering from pneumonia, an illness of the lungs and respiratory system which mostly affects people over 70 and is fatal in 5 per cent of cases.

He was speaking about his experiences as a crew member of the RMS Rangitata in 1957.

With his trademark clarity, Mr Prescott reminisced that, “the thing that struck me most was that when I joined it they didn’t sail out the North, they sailed out the South and there were a lot of gay guys on board and I was quite amazed at this.

“And I remember saying, spending three months on a voyage and there were ten gay guys in a room and I said, ‘I’m not staying in a room like this.’ Anyway I went in another room,” reports The Daily Mail.

The North/South comment seems to mean that the gay crew came from Southern England.

Last year the DPM spoke up for gay rights while standing in at Prime Minister’s Questions for Tony Blair.

Asked by the DUP’s Jeffrey Donaldson about the Sexual Orientation Regulations’ effect on religious people in Northern Ireland, Mr Prescott could not have been more eloquent in his defence of equality.

“I am not a religious man, but I always understood that religion was about tolerance. There is not much tolerance being shown in what the hon. Gentleman has said.

“It is a pity that we do not show more tolerance to different cultures and different religions. We would be a lot better off for it.”

Earlier this year it was announced that London’s Millennium Dome, owned by homophobic billionaire Philip Anschutz, will not play host to the UK’s first super-casino.

In July 2006, a scandal engulfed Mr Prescott over his undeclared stay on Mr Anschutz’s Colorado ranch.

Mr Anschutz has donated large sums of money to Colorado for Family Values, an organisation with explicitly homophobic views.

He is also a major patron of the Republican Party and funded “Amendment 2,” a voter initiated ballot to overturn gay rights in the state of Colorado.

He is also a major donor for the Institute for American Values, who campaign against single parent families.

Gov Schwarzenegger has previously said that if the bill was passed by both legislative chambers, he would use his powers as Governor to veto it, as he believes that the measure should be passed either by the courts or by a referendum.

The majority of lawmakers said that the state parliament should not wait for the Supreme Court to act on the issue, and passed the vote 42-43.

The author of the bill, Democrat Mark Leno told AP: “This does in fact provide equal marriage rights for all citizens of California.

“By denying a group of individuals the right to marry, we denigrate that entire group and deny them citizenship.”

The debate on the floor of the House was the lengthiest debate this year, but no insults were thrown, a feature which had marred previous debates on the subject.

The bill will now go to the state Senate, which is currently controlled by the Democrats.

Assemblyman Doug La Malfa, opponent of the bill, told AP: “There ought to be a few standards that stand the test of time, marriage being one of them.

“An institution that has lasted thousands of years in one form, that we would change it in the Legislature is pretty arrogant of us.”

California first began to recognise same-sex domestic partnerships in 2003, but gay couples in the state do not share full equality with married heterosexual couples.

Domestic partners do not receive income tax breaks, and are not eligible for Social Security beneficiary rules or veterans benefits.

Neither do they have legal rights to make medical decisions for their partners.

Massachusetts is the only state in the US that allows same-sex couples to marry.

The Preston and South Ribble branch of Age Concern have been awarded the money by the Big Lottery Fund.

They will use it to help reduce the social isolation felt by people over the age of 55.

A study by the charity last year found that older lesbian, gay, bisexual and trans people can have more difficulty accessing community services.

Dr Marie Riley, equality and diversity officer for Preston and South Ribble Age Concern, told PinkNews:

“When I heard the news that we were going to get the money, I was initially very shocked because lottery bids are extremely competitive.

“But people in the community are chuffed because it sends out a very positive message, acknowledging that older LGBT people do exist and sometimes have problems accessing services.

“This could be because they don’t have strong friendship groups like younger people do, or because as they age they lose mobility and lose contact with any support networks they have been in touch with.”

She added: “We are hoping to put in place some local workshop groups during events such as LGBT History month – and have lots of celebrations.”

It is thought that at least 240 of the charity’s existing users are members of the LGBT community.

The grant from the lottery’s Reaching Communities programme will be spent over five years. It will provide befriending, support and outreach services to reduce the isolation of older LGBT people in Preston and South Ribble.

A project worker will be appointed, and Age Concern hope to establish a dedicated helpline and newsletter.

Rick Sweeting, 55, has been an openly gay man for the last 25 years. He told the Lancashire Evening Post:”The problem is that when I was younger, being gay was unheard of, so many men who may have had feelings kept it to themselves and there is not an awful lot of older gay people around here.”

The charity will also introduce measures to make the wider community more aware of homophobia and its affects on older people.

Last month Age Concern in Preston and South Ribble sponsored a 3-day film festival at the University of Central Lancashire, which featured the film version of Gateway to Heaven, a play by Clare Summerskill.

The regional charity will also be publishing a book called “Nowt so Queer: Tales of LGBT Lancashire Folk.”

The candidate for Deputy Leader of the Labour Party slammed Tory homophobes after a survey revealed that one third of Conservative Party activists would not attend a Civil Partnership ceremony – even if invited by a friend.

Ms Blears said: “This is astonishing. One third of Conservatives would snub a friend’s invitation to a Civil Partnership, and the only possible explanation is homophobia.

“David Cameron has failed to change the Tory Party. Underneath the gloss, is the same old right-wing Tory Party which brought in Section 28.”

The survey was carried out by ConservativeHome, an unofficial right-wing website for Conservative grassroots activists.

Ms Blear’s criticisms were seconded by Cllr Mark Bennett, equalities campaigner with the Labour Campaign for Lesbian and Gay Rights, who said:

“This survey shows the core of prejudice at the heart of Cameron’s Conservatives.

“Labour equality activists from the BME and LGBT communities have maintained that divisive Tory attitudes are alive and as insidious as ever, and here is the proof.

“It seems that David Cameron has so far managed to chloroform dissent within his ranks, but it is now reviving.

“The findings of this survey will come as a shock to many people. They prove that only Labour has the commitment and the support from within to promote equality, whilst the Tories remain as entrenched in their attitudes as ever.

“They still have a long distance to travel from lip service to genuine belief.”

A Conservative Party spokesperson said in response:

“Hazel Blears refers to an online survey conducted by the website Conservatives Home. This is not a survey of Conservative Party members.

“In an online survey of this kind the scientific validity is questionable and there is no evidence that respondents were Conservative Party members.

“It is quite possible the survey was hijacked by Labour Party activists in an effort to discredit the Conservative Party. The survey in no way reflects Conservative Party policy or opinion.

“Hazel Blears demeans herself by using this website to attack the Conservative Party. It is ridiculous and shows why Hazel Blears is not up to the job of being Deputy Leader of the Labour Party.”

The Labour Campaign for Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender Rights, also known as LGBT Labour, today teamed up with Stonewall to ask Ms Blears questions on LGBT rights.

Ms Blears explained what she would do to further LGBT rights if she were elected Deputy Leader of the Labour Party.

She said: “As Deputy Leader I want to be the Minster for Delivery – making sure the manifesto on which you and I campaigned is implemented. An important outstanding issue is the Single Equalities legislation that I would make sure is complete by the following general Election.

“I support making “inciting homophobic hate” a criminal offence, I think this will strengthen the package of issues that the Government are seeking to address in the Criminal Justice Bill already and will make a difference to the quality of LGBT people’s lives.

“We need more specialist prosecutors within the criminal justice system to enforce laws which protect LGBT people from homophobic violence and abuse.

She stressed: “We need a much higher conviction rate.”

In an exclusive interview with PinkNews.co.uk earlier this week, Ms Blears confessed her worries about an resurgent Conservative Party.

She said: “I am not complacent about David Cameron. I think that for the first time in 20 years you have got a Tory party that is resurgent, it no longer embarrassing to be a Tory and I take them very seriously.”

Ms Blears described herself as “Mrs Pritchard with politics.”

The Presbyterian General Assembly in Belfast adopted the pastoral guidelines by 159 votes to 120.

It calls on the church to repent for times when gay people have been treated in ways that lack “grace.”

They ask for the church to create a “PCI Safe Space” which can be phoned or visited anonymously by people who wish to discuss their sexuality.

Church members are also told to modify their language and avoid phrases such as “Love the sinner, hate the sin,” or “Adam and Eve, not Adam and Steve.”

The report also dispels the myth that gay people are paedophiles.

Former moderator Rev Dr Ken Newell said it was his hope that the whole church would apologise to gay people “for any hurt that you have experienced.”

He said: “To put it simply, if and when you need us, we are here for you.”

A proponent of the guidelines, Rev Bobby Liddle, said: “It is very humbling to sit across a table from a young person who was committed to Jesus Christ, devoted to youth work in his church, active in evangelism, well grounded in scripture and to hear him tell how he stood with a rope around his neck feeling… that suicide was preferable to being open with his church and his parents about his sexuality struggles.”

However, an amendment which proposed that the guidelines should be referred back to the presbyteries was only very narrowly defeated by 163 votes for, to 168 votes against.

Several church members were outraged by the guidelines.

Rev Ken Patterson described homosexuality as “a sin of the most heinous kind.”

He said: “I know of no other sin which caused God to destroy whole cities in ancient times, but that is what happened to Sodom and Gomorrah.”

Rev Stephen Neilly seconded the amendment, and said: “Christ can deliver people fully from the sin of homosexuality just as much as alcoholism or from other sexual sin.”

Last week PinkNews.co.uk reported how Ian Paisley Jnr caused huge controversy in Northern Ireland when he told Hotpress magazine:

Mr Paisley, 41, told Hotpress magazine:

“I am pretty repulsed by gay and lesbianism. I think it is wrong. I think that those people harm themselves and – without caring about it – harm society.

“That doesn’t mean to say that I hate them. I mean, I hate what they do.”

Mr Paisley Jnr is a member of the DUP representing Antrim North in the Northern Ireland Assembly, and his department is responsible for ensuring equality for gay people.

A study by the University of Ulster in February found that Northern Ireland is the most bigoted country in the western world.

The subjects of the study were asked, “Would you like to persons from this group as your neighbours?”

The five groups were people of another race, immigrants or foreign workers, Muslims, Jews and homosexuals.

In Northern Ireland 44% of the 1,000 respondents did not want persons from at least one of the five groups as their neighbours.

A huge 35.9% of respondents from Northern Ireland would not like homosexuals as neighbours.

The report also found that homophobia was by far the main source of bigotry in most western countries.

Police are treating the murder as a “crime of passion,” as no money was taken from the victim.

Karl Heinz Thonningen, 44, was stabbed to death at 0500 when returning home from gay clubs in the popular Playa Del Ingles holiday resort.

Two ambulances attended the scene, but paramedics were unable to resuscitate him.

The victim had gone out for the night while his partner stayed in the hotel. Police have searched the area, but have been unable to find a murder weapon.

A 39-year old Scottish man, known only as EB, was arrested for the murder on Monday, after being found in a drug-induced coma following a suicide attempt.

A spokesman told The Edinburgh Evening News: “A British man has been detained in connection with a murder in Gran Canaria. He did come from Edinburgh, however we do not have a name to release at this stage.”

The man, who has not yet been charged, is due to appear in court today.

Police believe that EB killed Mr Thonningen after finding out he was in a long term relationship.