Cohen, 29, discusses coming out to his Jewish family in the time of Section 28, when discussion about being gay was limited in schools. He also condemns reparative therapy for same sex attractions. His former school, JFS, was criticised last month for showing sixth form students a slide about gay cure treatments.

He says: “I first began the process of coming out when I was fifteen. For a few years, I wondered if the feelings I had would go away and maybe whether they were a test from God.

“When I look back at it now, I can’t believe how scared I was when I first started telling my family and friends. I knew that there were already openly gay people in my extended family and that my parents had a few gay friends. But I remembered a rather nasty comment my Dad said about gay people when I was younger, something I really focused on.

“In reality when I told my family, they were more surprised that my ex-boyfriend wasn’t Jewish than that he was a guy. They just wanted to me be happy and more recently, my Dad has become vocal advocates for LGBT rights in their professional and communal lives.

“Although, back when I came out were living in a totally different world, Section 28 meant homosexuality wasn’t really discussed in schools, there wasn’t an equal age of consent, no civil partnerships and no prospect of same sex marriage- something our prime minister wants to introduce.

“But I realise that despite the advances in equality, coming out is still difficult, especially if like me you come from a faith background. For some it’s not just about how your family reacts, it’s about how you fit into a community that you love.”

Cohen was a pupil at JFS, the school which came under fire last month for showing pupils a slide depicting the logo of a ‘gay cure’ group during a discussion on homosexuality.

He says: “Unfortunately some young people are still being told that homosexuality is a choice, a wrong choice, NOT something that you can’t help. In some religious institutions young people are being told about so called reparative therapy for same sex attraction. In other words, courses and treatments to turn you straight.

“I know people who’ve spent tens of thousands of pounds trying to unsuccessfully alter their sexuality and other people have harmed themselves after failing. On both sides of the Atlantic, medical associations condemn the practise.

“But, there is another way, I feel twice blessed that I was born into the Jewish and LGBT community and in part it’s because I’ve discovered that there are tens of thousands of people like me.

“In Britain we have Keshet UK, the national LGBT Jewish forum and groups including Gay Jews in London, JGLG, Engayje, the Gay and Lesbian Orthodox Network and Imaot v Avot – the group for LGBT parents. And in the wider faith community there’s the Lesbian and Gay Christian Movement, and Imaan the group for LGBT Muslims.

“The point is that there are people like you, lots of them and you’ll find by supporting each other, it gets better.”

Homosexuality has always been a hot potato in the Jewish community. Proponents argue that Judaism is homophobic while detractors insist they are just upholding the letter of the law.

The biblical injunction against homosexual activity is clear. People who want to conform to the Bible should not be condemned as homophobic anymore than critics of religion might be labelled theophobic. However, just because I maintain that homosexuality is wrong doesn’t mean I have to go beating the drum about it anymore than I might regularly preach against adultery. To be sure, there are times when public statements are deemed necessary, such as when same-sex marriages began to become legalised. Imagine the public outcry were bigamy to be declared legal. Similarly, when governments were voting with their feet to recognise same-sex marriages, it was only to be expected that moralists and religious leaders would speak out against. Still, even when it is considered necessary to protest, it remains imperative that basic sensitivity is maintained. A fundamental principle in Judaism, sadly lost on too many extremists today, is to condemn the action, never the person. Take for example the “Statement of Principles on the Place of Jews with a Homosexual Orientation in Our Community,” initially released in mid-2010. It was signed by dozens of leading Orthodox Rabbis across the Jewish world, making perfectly clear the traditional Jewish viewpoint on homosexuality, while also reassuring gay people that they are always welcome into Synagogues and communities.

Last week, the Jews Free School in London made headlines for teaching a class that homosexuality can be cured. According to a Jewish Chronicle report, as part of the school’s Jewish studies curriculum, pupils were shown a website from the American group JONAH – Jews Offering New Alternatives to Homosexuality, apparently introduced at the end of the textual study on homosexuality and the Orthodox viewpoint. Having met last night with Michael Glass, the Chair of Governors of JFS, he informs me that the school has issued a statement denying the reported sequence of events, and insisting it was something that formed part of a discussion, rather than an ideal that was being formally promoted.

Meanwhile, Holland’s Chief Rabbi, Aryeh Ralbag has been suspended for putting his signature to the JONAH mission statement that promotes the idea that homosexuality can be “mitigated and potentially eliminated.” This in turn has prompted a public outcry from the Conference of European Rabbis and others, arguing that to relieve a Chief Rabbi from his position for upholding an ancient biblical law, is deplorable, “verging on fascism.”

There is a difference between issuing a statement asserting the traditional Jewish view on homosexuality, and offering one’s own theory about “illness and cure.” The Bible condemns the act as an abomination, as it does eating bacon. Plain and simply put, it is forbidden. That’s where the scope of any Rabbi’s position should begin and end. If psychotherapists believe that sexual orientation can be altered, that is their remit. It’s not for Rabbis to go publically endorsing such a position, which is essentially saying, not only are you gay but you’re also mentally unstable. That’s crossing the line into condemning the person, not just the act.

Chief Rabbi Ralbag should not be relieved of his position for taking a religious stance on a traditional biblical position. That’s plain ludicrous. However, his sensitivity, and by extension his ability to reach out to his wider constituency, in endorsing a controversial statement regarding homosexuals, must surely be called into question.

Yitzchak Schochet is the Rabbi for Mill Hill United Synagogue and is responsible for family issues in the Chief Rabbi’s cabinet. He blogs at www.shul.co.uk/rabbi and can be followed on twitter @RabbiYYS

As with all “Comment” pieces, the views of Rabbi Schochet do not represent the views of PinkNews.co.uk

Here are some of the photo highlights.

Last year, Mr Cameron announced his support of the introduction of civil marriage for gay couples, telling the Conservative Party conference: “to anyone who has reservations, I say this: Yes, it’s about equality, but it’s also about something else: commitment. Conservatives believe in the ties that bind us; that society is stronger when we make vows to each other and support each other.

“So I don’t support gay marriage in spite of being a Conservative. I support gay marriage because I am a Conservative.”

Today, Dr Senatmu, who is in Jamaica to celebrate the 50th anniversary of its independence from Britain told the newspaper: “Marriage is a relationship between a man and a woman.

“I don’t think it is the role of the state to define what marriage is. It is set in tradition and history and you can’t just [change it] overnight, no matter how powerful you are.”

He appears to compare the prime minister to a dictator saying: “We’ve seen dictators do it in different contexts and I don’t want to redefine very clear social structures that have been in existence for a long time and then overnight the state believes it could go in a particular way.

“It’s almost like somebody telling you that the Church, whose job is to worship God [will be] an arm of the Armed Forces. They must take arms and fight. You’re completely changing tradition.”

Mr Cameron has been criticised by other, more liberal religious leaders for not proposing ‘full’ gay marriage. The government is currently consulting on the introduction of ‘civil’ gay marriage, services that will not be held in religious institutions.

The government has already introduced civil partnerships that can be held in religious buildings, though these are still legally non-religious unions.

Liberal and Reform Judaism together with the Quaker and Unitarian churches have called on the government to allow gay marriages to be conducted by religious groups who wish to hold them.

Dr Sentamu warned that the government is likely to face widespread opposition to any change in the law in Parliament. “The rebellion is going to come not only from the bishops. You’re going to get it from across the benches and in the Commons.

“If you genuinely would like the registration of civil partnerships to happen in a more general way, most people will say they can see the drift. But if you begin to call those ‘marriage’, you’re trying to change the English language.”

“That does not mean you diminish, condemn, criticise, patronise any same-sex relationships because that is not what the debate is about.

“The Church has always stood out – Jesus actually was the odd man out. I’d rather stick with Jesus than be popular because it looks odd.”

Dr Sentamu was imprisoned by real-life Ugandan dictator Idi Amin in 1974 because of his judicial independence while practising as a lawyer in the country before entering into the priesthood.

The human rights campaigner Peter Tatchell said: “Dr Sentamu is a religious authoritarian who wants to impose his personal opposition to same-sex marriage on the rest of society. It is not a loving Christian value to demand legal discrimination against gay couples and to treat them as inferior, second class citizens with fewer rights than everyone else.

“The government is proposing to legalise same-sex marriages in register offices only. This will not affect churches. The Archbishop has no valid grounds for objecting to civil registrations that will ensure equal marriage rights for all couples. The vast majority of British people, including many Christians, support the right of same-sex couples to get married. Dr Sentamu is intolerant and out of touch.”

In 2009, Dr Sentamu did speak out against plans to introduce the death penalty for some gay sex acts in his native Uganda. He told the BBC: “People may have very clear, what I call traditional, views about homosexuality but we as a communion are committed to listening to the experiences of homosexual people.

“You can’t do that on one hand and then have language [in the bill] which in many ways seems to suggest homosexual people are not the children of God.

“They deserve the best we gave give in pastoral care and friendship. And I’m quite sure that the response the Church of Uganda will make in due course will have to take into account all of these realities.”

Organisers, who have previously held the conference in Belfast, Northern Ireland, have insisted the title is not meant to cause offence.

The Core Issues Trust says it disagrees with the way leprosy sufferers were shunned in biblical times and compare that with how people with “conflicted in religious and sexual identity” are treated now.

But its beliefs and aims have been described today as “specious” and “deeply insulting”.

The conference, which will be held from 10am-8pm at the Emmanuel Centre in London’s Westminster, is set to “explore the role of evangelical and orthodox churches in supporting men and women with unwanted same sex attractions”.

The organisation, which says it is recognised as a charity by HMRC, issued a carefully-worded official statement on ‘change’ in 2010, saying: “All human sexuality is fallen and is in need of the sanctifying work of God to restore it to its intended wholeness and divine purpose.

“There is a growing body of research evidence indicating that sexual preference is neither immutable, innate nor chosen. As a consequence of our basic sinfulness we all have desires that we do not choose to have but we do have choices with respect to what we do about them.

“As a consequence our sexual identity can be reinforced or altered by either gender-affirming or gay-affirming lifestyles or therapies. CORE works with people who voluntarily seek to change from a “gay” lifestyle to a gender-affirming one. This is sometimes referred to as a “sexual re-orientation” process.”

‘Gay cure’ therapies are roundly rejected by professional bodies, but the group has denied offering “conflicted” people conversion therapy. They also say the conference is concerned with theology rather than psychotherapy and that they respect the rights of gays who do not “seek change”.

Organisers said in a statement ahead of the Belfast conference: “Core Issues Trust does not offer so-called ‘Reparative’ or ‘Conversion’ therapy but does offer support to individuals conflicted in religious and sexual identity, within a specific ethical framework.”

That framework advises therapists to seek “clarification of tailored pathways appropriate for future identity integration, consistent with personal values. This clarification may lead to a quest for celibacy, integration (to the LGB community) or to change.”

It also reminds therapists to tell clients that “reorientation” therapy could be psychologically damaging and that there is no evidence it works.

The group’s official statement on ‘change’ also says: “Merely abstaining from homosexual activity, although admirable, cannot be regarded as healing. Heterosexual preference is the goal of gender-affirming therapy and this may lead to marriage. However there will always be those who choose to remain celibate and single. Such singleness should be valued and respected.”

The British Psychoanalytic Council recently adopted a position statement saying it is “opposed to discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation and does not accept that a homosexual orientation is evidence of disturbance of the mind or in development.”

Commenting on the event, the British Humanist Association Head of Public Affairs Naomi Phillips said: “The Core Issues Trust state they wish to work with those who ‘seek to change from a “gay” lifestyle to a gender-affirming one’, however the suggestion that homosexuality is a problem in need of a ‘cure’ is deeply insulting to lesbian, gay and bisexual people, profoundly objectionable, and wrong.

“Specious claims that someone’s sexual orientation can be changed through religion or therapy lack any credible basis, and conversion therapy can prove extremely harmful, especially where vulnerable individuals are being targeted. These kinds of biblically-inspired attempts to change sexual orientation have been repeatedly denounced by the UK Council for Psychotherapy, the British Medical Association, and the Royal College of Psychiatrists.”

Dr Paul Miller, the infamous psychiatrist who was the subject of an exposé in 2010 that led to him being reported to the General Medical Council, is on the conference’s Council of Reference.

He has recently been put under a supervision order by the GMC, who confirmed to PinkNews.co.uk last week that he was under investigation.

A statement by the Trust ahead of its Belfast conference says it “recognises the fundamental human rights of the LGBT community to live in partnerships that are happy, fulfilled and respected. It acknowledges that Christians have different understandings of the teachings on the bible around human sexuality.

“It reserves the right to offer alternative orthodox views to those who choose to prioritise a religious identity over a sexual identity, or when these identities collide.”

But it also requests the Royal College of Psychiatrists, the British Association for Counselling & Psychotherapy, and the United Kingdom Council for Psychotherapy recognise the “dangers” of a conflicted person “prematurely foreclosing” on a gay identity.

It “requests more thorough discussion about how to deal with competing religious and cultural values, and for these groups to recognise the poor quality of currently available scientific data and the lack of adequate evidence around both proving or disproving sexual orientation change efforts.”

UK Council for Psychotherapy chair, Professor Andrew Samuels said: “This isn’t about respecting religious belief or freedom of speech. Those are just smokescreens. This is really about homophobia – fear and hatred of sexual minorities – often fuelled by highly controversial readings of scripture.

“Every responsible organisation in the field of psychotherapy, counselling and mental health has expressed extreme concern at the practice of therapy intended to change sexual orientation.

“Such attempts are profoundly unethical, don’t work, and exploit the undeniable difficulties people from sexual minorities experience in our society. It is vital that people don’t get fooled by expressions of love and support for gays and lesbians emanating from the Core Issues Trust.”

Talks at the conference have titles including: ‘All of us Get Healed Together or Nobody Gets Healed: Marriage, Chaos, Love Disorders, Sexual Inversions and Gender Confusions’, ‘Fallen church leaders and members’ and ‘Naming the sin, lifting the shame’.

The event leaflet states: “The organisers welcome to this event all those who might disagree with the opinions expressed by presenters, or those held by Core Issues Trust who seek to attend for the purpose of engaging with the speakers.”

PinkNews.co.uk is awaiting a response from the Core Issues Trust to objections raised about the conference.

Councillor Tim Harris, a 41 year old software salesman, was elected without contest as group leader.

Openly gay, he is well-known for his prominent LGBT campaigning, which recently included successfully facilitating a £10,000 grant to kick-start a Reading LGBT centre.

The councillor, who takes part in triathlons in his spare time, said he would bring energy to his new role.

He said: “I am delighted to have been elected unopposed and am really pleased with the officer team.

“The energy, knowledge and innovation within the Conservative group is awesome, so I will be working hard to fully embrace this for the people of Reading.”

Commenting on behalf of LGBTory, the Conservative Party’s LGBT group, Chairman Matthew Sephton added: “I am delighted that Tim has taken on this role and I know he will make a great leader.

“As well as being a excellent councillor, he is an active member and supporter of LGBTory and has been at the heart of campaigning on LGBT issues for many years already.

“Right across the country there are now more openly-LGBT Conservatives at every level of the Party, from the Scottish Leader to more MPs than all other Parties combined, hundreds of local councillors and those in positions like Tim’s, than ever before.

“This is a positive thing for all LGBT people and I wish Tim well in his new role.”

Runner up Collins was mentored by Take That star Gary Barlow.

The X Factor ‘winner’s song’ was ‘Cannonball’ by the Irish folk singer Damien Rice. When it was originally released in 2003, it only reached 32 in the UK Singles Chart. A year later when it was re-released it reached number 19.

The 23 year-old former hairdresser from Liverpool has been living with his boyfriend David Heath for some time. Heath is himself a former X Factor contestant, a member of the band Eton Road, who came fifth in the contest in 2006. Collins met Heath when he joined the band in 2007 to replace the then lead singer, although Collins himself left the band the following year.

Last month, it was reported that Collins, who is mixed race, was the victim of a racist and homophobic phone call. A source told The Sun that Collins received a phone call in the small hours that “was just full of hate and spewed all sorts of racist and anti-gay abuse.”

The source added: “He was saying, ‘You don’t deserve to be on the show. Who do you think you are?’ and calling him every name under the sun. Marcus couldn’t believe his ears and he couldn’t understand how anyone got hold of his number in the first place.”

Marcus was the first openly gay contestant to reach the grand final of the X Factor. Joe McElderry, who won the X Factor in 2009, came out a year later, last July after pranksters hacked into his Twitter account and outed him. Despite initially denying publicly that he was gay, the incident prompted him to come out to his mother.

Will Young, who won the precursor to the X Factor, Pop Idol, came out as gay shortly after winning the competition.

At an event tonight, held at London’s City Hall, details for the festival which will include live music, entertainment, LGBT art, sports and tournaments will be revealed.

Pride House is the brainchild of Canadian born Chad Molleken and is inspired by the success of Pride House Vancouver and Whistler at the 2010 Winter Games

“Next summer Pride House will welcome athletes, dignitaries, media, Londoners and visitors from around the world with a dynamic and entertaining programme in support of the LGBT community”, said Mr Molleken. “It has been extremely rewarding to see the interest and engagement from organisations and individuals from around the world and today we are proud to announce partnerships with the It Gets Better Project, UK Pride Sports, LGBT History Month and Diversity Role Models.”

Pride House’s launch event is sponsored by London & Partners, the official promotional organisation for the capital. Its chief executive Gordon Innes said: “We are really excited about the prospect of Pride House in London – it’s a fantastic opportunity for the capital to celebrate diversity in the community. The house will be a wonderful addition to the array of cultural and entertainment experiences and other houses which will be opening up across the city next year.”

Actor and author Stephen Fry has been named an ambassador of Pride House. He commented: “I’m very proud and pleased to be an ambassador for Pride House London. All eyes will be on London for the 2012 Games and Pride House is an idea that brings together so many of the elements that makes London one of the greatest cities in the world and a beacon of tolerance, diversity and pride. Pride House is a symbol of how London remains one of the most truly cosmopolitan and accepting cities in the world.”

Other patrons include former NBA basketball player John Amaechi, Team GB volleyball training squad member Claire Harvey, human rights campaigner Peter Tatchell, the chief executive of Diversity Role Models Suran Dickson, film producer David Furnish, author and journalist Dan Savage and New Zealand Olympic short-track speed skater Blake Skjellerup.

Last year, the organising committee of the London 2012 Olympic Games began to sell special pin badges aimed at LGBT people.

The £5 badges were be the first in a series highlighting the six ‘strands of diversity’ and feature the 2012 Games’ logo against a rainbow flag.

Joseph Webb was charged after the incident at Southampton’s St Mary’s Stadium, during a Championship game with Brighton and Hove Albion on 19 November.

Brighton’s association with the gay community means its football team is often a target for rivals at away games.

Webb, 26, of Romsey, admitted the charge under the Public Order Act, and was fined £100, plus £100 costs.

Rikesh Sakaaria, 28, of Southampton, was also charged but his case was withdrawn.

A Hampshire Constabulary spokeswoman said: “Homophobia within football is currently the subject of national debate, and the ban given today highlights the fact this type of behaviour will not be tolerated.

“Thousands of people pay each week to watch sport and enjoy themselves, and they should not have to hear offensive language and abuse while they do so. We will continue to take action against those who behave in such a way at football matches.”

At the time of the original arrest, a spokesperson for the Justin Campaign said: “In making these two arrests at St. Mary’s, Hampshire Police have shown that it is not acceptable to hurl abuse at a minority who have, for far too long, been excluded from the game we all love.

“Homophobic chanting is not ‘harmless banter’, it is offensive and damaging behaviour which has no place in a football stadium.

This is the earliest the event organisers have had to begin collecting money in the city’s history.

Liverpool City Council has said financial constraints may mean it is forced to cut funding to festivals in the city, though organisers say they will continue to work with the authority.

Over 40,000 people attended the event this year, double the 2010 figure of 20,000.

A study completed by Liverpool Pride showed that 2011’s festival generated a total spend of over £2.6 million for the local economy.

Organisers are now asking local individuals and businesses to help ensure the event continues to be free in 2012.

James Davies, one of the trustees of Liverpool Pride said: “We’re delighted to be able to announce Liverpool Pride 2012 and can’t wait to start on the road to creating something that is truly special once more.

Although we face some funding cuts due to wider cuts in public spending, we’re determined to make Liverpool Pride 2012 even bigger and better than ever before and can only do that with the help of Liverpool, as a council, as a community and as a business collective.

“We’re grateful to the City Council and to the likes of the European Regional Development Fund as well as our sponsors for all of their support thus far and hope that, despite budget cuts, we can continue to work with them in the coming years.

“We made the festival into a massive success in 2011 even though we faced a 60% cut in our funding from the City Council and we’re determined to do it again even if further cuts should occur.”

Fundraising events begin in December with the Camp as Christmas evening at The Dome on Renshaw Street.

The event features erstwhile X Factor contenders Diva Fever, who had to pull out of this year’s Pride event after triple-booking themselves.

Earlier this month, Liverpool unveiled the UK’s first gay street signs.

Liverpool Pride is asking local businesses and individuals to run fundraising events including bring and buy sales, cake bake offs and sponsored drag days.

Peter Macmillan-Collins, 52, appeared at Bradford Crown Court yesterday to deny the charges.

The defendant said he had performed a sex act on a 23 year old man who had been spending the night in his camper van along with two other men, but believed the man had consented to the act.

He had told police the four had been drinking heavily, and said: “I remember feeling an arm around me. I must admit, I felt comfortable about it.”

At the trial, Mr Macmillan-Collins said he “went with the flow”, believing the younger man to have consented.

He awoke the following morning to find the man attacking him.

Mr Macmillan-Collins said: “I had a gut feeling that he had regretted what had happened. He was shouting at me, things like ‘where am I? What is happening? what have you done?’

“I was absolutely dazed being woken up like that. It was hard to take in.”

He said the alleged victim threatened to throw a road sign through the window of the camper van before the police arrived.

Mr Macmillan-Collins admitted he had told police he was straight on two subsequent occasions. He said his family were “very homophobic”.

He added: “I find it incredibly hard to talk about what I am”.

“I felt my family would find out. It is horrible being ‘in the closet’ as they say.”

When DNA from the younger man was discovered on him, Mr Macmillan-Collins was forced to come out, and told the court: “I almost found a kind of release that it was found out that way. I had to tell somebody.”

Wadham College hosts the annual Queerfest, a party which celebrates gay history and culture, and raises awareness for LGBT rights.

In recent years this has been preceded by Queerweek, a collection of talks, discussions and social events.

While the 2011 Queerweek celebrations, which began on the 14 November, saw the lights in the college’s front quad turned pink, organisers sought a more visible display to people outside the college.

Queerweek organiser Michael Brooks, 19, a Philosophy and German undergraduate, told PinkNews.co.uk the reaction from the university and the city has been positive.

Brooks agreed on the idea of raising a flag among the city’s spires with the other event organiser, Sarah Pine, before approaching university authorities.

He said: “We discussed it with the college Dean and then it went through to Governing Body. Everyone responded really positively to the idea and we ended up flying the rainbow flag over Wadham for an entire week.

“Putting up the flag was such a simple thing to do, but it had a huge effect on Oxford. I heard many people from different colleges talking about it. I saw tourists stopping outside Wadham to take photos of it.

“It challenges the stereotypes people have of Oxford and I hope that it will make those within Oxford who do hold very conservative views concerning LGBTQ rights to think differently.

“I was speaking to one student about the rainbow flag and he told me that he was surprised that the ‘powers-that-be’ at Wadham allowed us to fly the flag. I think that this shows that other Oxford colleges do not offer enough support to their LGBTQ community and it’s time for that to change.

Ross Brooks, the author of Oxford’s LGBT city guide Queer Oxford, said he was “stunned and delighted” to have seen the rainbow flag over a university building.

He told PinkNews.co.uk: “For centuries, LGBT culture has been integral to life here in Oxford although it has not always been acknowledged and appreciated.

“It was heartwarming to see Oxford University celebrating diversity in the community so proudly and publicly.”

He added the college was the scene of a notable gay scandal.

The author said: “On 3rd February 1739, Robert Thistlethwayte, Doctor of Divinity and infamous Warden of Wadham, attempted to seduce William French, a commoner of the College.

“The ensuing scandal shook the University to its foundations. Thistlethwayte’s career at Oxford was ruined – he fled to France – but he was immortalised in several delightful limericks which have been uttered here in Oxford ever since the 1730s.”

One of the mentioned rhymes runs:

There once was a Warden of Wadham
Who approved of the folkways of Sodom,
For a man might, he said,
Have a very poor head
But be a fine Fellow at bottom

While the flag was first used by the LGBT community in the 1970s, it is believed this is the first official gay symbol to be displayed since teaching began on the university’s site in the 11th century.

The club, based in High Wycombe, Buckinghamshire, joins Wycombe Wanderers, with whom they share a ground, in supporting the initiative.

It was officially endorsed by David Cameron earlier in June.

The Equalities Minister Lynn Featherstone has congratulated the London Wasps for signing the charter and said: “I applaud them for doing so. I encourage everyone who loves Rugby Union to sign the Charter and help kick homophobia and transphobia out of sport for good.”

London Wasps winger Tom Varndell said: “As a Club we are committed to supporting anything which helps to stamp out all forms of discrimination in the game.

“I believe rugby does a very good job at encouraging and welcoming players, fans and officials of a range of diverse backgrounds already and long may this continue.

“Everybody should be able to enjoy sport, regardless of who they are and where they’ve come from.”

Ben Cohen, the former England rugby player and anti-bullying campaigner also applauded the club’s decision and said:

“It’s great to see that London Wasps have joined the support of this important Charter.

“With football and rugby clubs getting involved maybe things can start to change and we will see other sporting organisations join in.

“As sporting role models, we all have a duty to set an example to all, on and off the pitch so well done Wasps”.

Last Friday evening, the Midland Zone website announced that Zolfo Cooper would be appointed to oversee the business after Lloyds/TSB forced it into administration.

In a statement for Midland Zone, Zolfo Cooper’s Joint Administrator, Ryan Grant, said: “We will be trading the business as normal over the coming weeks whilst we explore the possibility of finding a purchaser for this well-established and popular nightclub.

“We would therefore encourage those parties with a genuine interest in purchasing the nightclub to contact us as soon as possible.”

A Facebook page of support has now been set up and is encouraging clubbers to “save” the venue. Nightingale has been an iconic fixture in Birmingham for more than 40 years.

It first opened in 1969 on Camp Hill before moving to Kent Street in 1994. Last Saturday, former X Factor contenders Johnny Robinson and boyband The Risk performed to crowds at the venue.

Meanwhile, Birmingham’s Angel Bar, which is run by Mardi Gras Birmingham Limited – a subsidiary of The Nightingale Club Limited, is said to be unaffected by the developments.

Several separate consortiums are understood to be planning to bid for the assets and lease of the Nightingale venue.

The administration process is expected to be concluded in less than two months from now. A creditors’ meeting is also due to be held in the next few weeks.

The Back to Backs houses in the heart of Birmingham’s gay district will host performances from award-winning company Women & Theatre which uncover the lost histories of Birmingham’s LGBT people from the 1850s to the 1970s.

SHOUT Festival Producer, David Viney said: “We are really excited by these upcoming performances. It is vitally important that LGBT people take their place in Birmingham’s history.

“Not only will they throw light on what life was like for everyday LGBT people in the past, but also bring back to the public consciousness one of Birmingham’s most famous gay sons.”

Characters to be met in the city include Charles, a manual labourer from the 1840s, sent to All Saints Asylum for ‘committing unnatural acts’.

Visitors can meet Fred ‘Freda’ Barnes a Saltley-born butcher’s boy turned music hall megastar of the 1920s; flamboyant, disgraced and forgotten. In the 1940s can be found Annette, wife and mother, as she looks back on meeting the love of her life in wartime, inner-city Birmingham.

And finally, meet Leila, a young woman from 2011 searching an old tailor’s shop to find evidence of ‘someone like her’ in the 1970s.

The site-specific performances, featuring professional and amateur actors, will take place in the atmospheric rooms of Birmingham’s last surviving court of back to back houses.

The houses, under National Trust stewardship, tell the story of the ordinary people who helped to make Birmingham an extraordinary city throughout the nineteenth and twentieth centuries.

Simon Hall from the Back to Backs adds: “We are always looking for innovative ways to engage with the very diverse audiences that surround us here in the city.

“When I was presented with the idea of this very exciting and ground breaking project, I saw it as an amazing way to engage with the vibrant gay community in our vicinity and to use the medium of theatre to present these wonderful stories with our unique houses as the backdrop.”

Janice Connolly, Artistic Director of Women & Theatre, said: “We are delighted to be involved in this flagship project. These exciting performances have grown out of research carried out by community researchers. Together they uncovered the lost histories of gay and lesbian Birmingham. We are sure this project will be a highlight of this year’s SHOUT festival.”

The project is funded by The Heritage Lottery Fund and is a project of Birmingham LGBT.

Gay Birmingham at the Back to Backs are running from 17-19 and 22-26 November.

More information can be found at SHOUT Festival website’s programme of events.

The report, Tackling Homophobia and Transphobia In Settings Supporting Young People, which is published to coincide with Anti-Bullying Week, interviewed students, teachers and youth workers about their experience in South Yorkshire.

Students at more than one school reported being instructed to change into and out of sports kit in “toilets and in other rooms located near to the regular changing facilities”.

The study says: “Perhaps not surprisingly, this made them feel singled out and excluded, and contributed to some not attending PE and/or school. When one group member had complained about this practice they had been told they were ‘causing a fuss’, whilst another in a different school was told it was for ‘their own safety’.”

Lead researcher Eleanor Formby, from the Centre for Education and Inclusion Research at Sheffield Hallam, said such behaviours could lead to homophobia becoming “normalised” by the time youngsters leave school.

She said: “I don’t think telling pupils who have ‘come out’ to get changed separately is official policy, but I fear that it may be routine practice in some schools and could lead to homophobia being normalised.”

One student said of agreeing to change separately: “At the end of the day it was partly my decision to do it coz’ I was scared of stuff that would get said or done.”

Formby added: “Staff often want to be able to tackle issues dealing with sexuality, but are often unaware of or unable to access training or resources that are on offer so they can deal with these issues appropriately and effectively.”

The study also highlights reports by some students of teachers making openly homophobic statements.

One student claimed a teacher told them: “If my son or my daughter was ever gay I’d take them into the back of my garden, tie them to the wall and shoot them with a shotgun.”

Formby said: “This study suggests that whilst many young people and staff strongly believe in equality for LGB groups, there is still a clear view among some that same-sex relationships are ‘different’, ‘unnatural’, ‘unfamiliar’ and therefore wrong”.

“It is concerning to me that young LGB people may still face these attitudes from both their peers and professionals who ostensibly should be working towards supporting and safeguarding their wellbeing.”

Earlier this month, a report on anti-bullying support for staff in Essex schools noted a student’s claim that one teacher had suggested they “act less gay” to avoid being bullied.

The South Yorkshire study recommends stronger senior management for LGBT awareness and support, the nomination of a school governor responsible for LGBT issues and an LGBT “champion” to promote them in the organisation.

The study’s data was drawn from:
• A self-completion questionnaire for young people, to which there were 146 responses from young people aged 13-21
• Eight in-depth group discussions with young people aged 11-20, involving 65 participants in total. Two of these took place within schools and six took place within youth work settings
• Nine in-depth interviews with professionals. Four of these were teachers and five were youth workers

The honorary doctorate was awarded at the university’s graduation ceremony. It described Mr Tatchell as follows: “Campaigner, author, journalist and broadcaster, Peter Tatchell has devoted his life to speaking out against discrimination and injustice. Australian-born, he began campaigning for Aboriginal rights while still at school. He moved to London in 1971 and soon became a leading member of the Gay Liberation Front.

“In 1990 he co-founded gay rights group OutRage! and he has also spearheaded other long-running campaigns against apartheid, nuclear weapons, environmental degradation and the death penalty. His work to promote the enforcement of international human rights law has included efforts to secure the prosecution of Robert Mugabe and Henry Kissinger. He is currently leading the Equal Love campaign, aimed at ending the bans on same-sex civil marriages and opposite-sex civil partnerships.”

After the ceremony, Mr Tatchell said: “It is wonderful to be honoured by my local university, with which I have been associated for nearly 30 years as an occasional guest speaker. I am grateful to receive this recognition for my four decades promoting the enforcement of human rights law and, in particular, my innovative use of the power of citizen’s arrest in a bid to bring President Mugabe to justice for the crime of torture.

“My contribution to human rights is small. But together with many others I have contributed to major gay law reforms and other human rights advances. Our collective efforts have made a positive difference. I dedicate my acceptance of this award to the heroic democracy, human rights and social justice activists in Uganda who are campaigning against the increasingly authoritarian regime of President Yoweri Museveni. Many of them have been arrested, beaten, tortured and jailed. I salute their extraordinary courage.”

Mr Tatchell added: “I dedicate my acceptance of this award to the heroic democracy, human rights, LGBTI and social justice activists in Uganda who are campaigning against the corrupt, authoritarian regime of President Yoweri Museveni. Many of them have been arrested, beaten, tortured and jailed. I walk in their shadow and salute their extraordinary courage.”

Last September, Southwark Council fixed a blue plaque outside the flat that has for many years was the headquarters of his human rights campaigns.

The plaque unveiled by the actor and Stonewall co-founder Sir Ian McKellen reads: “Peter Tatchell. Born 1952. Campaigner for human rights, gay freedom and social justice. Lived Here. Voted by the people.”

Unusually, Southwark Council occasionally awards blue plaques to living people. The honour given to Mr Tatchell was awarded after a vote by residents.

Last summer, Mr Tatchell was awarded an honorary doctorate by the University of Sussex.

A 28-year-old man and a 19-year-old woman were followed by three men along Gordon Road in Gosport at around 1.30 on the morning of 5 November.

At the junction with Bury Road, they made homophobic comments to the man before two of them knocked him to the ground. He was kicked and punched.

The 19-year-old was racially abused before the pair escaped. The man was left with cuts and bruises, and the woman was not hurt.

One of the men was white, about 21, with short ginger hair which was shaved at the side and spiked on top.

He had blond eyelashes and eyebrows and wore a white tracksuit with blue reflective strips down the arms and legs.

The second man was white, around 19 years old, with short, dark hair in a bobbed style. He wore dark jeans and a buttoned-up shirt.

The third man was between 17 and 20 years old, with long, dark hair.

He wore a green and black checked shirt with the sleeves rolled up.

Anyone with information should call PC Tina Abrams Fareham CID on 101 or Crimestoppers on 0800 555 111.

The new signs, the first of which was unveiled today, will incorporate a rainbow arch and will be used on Stanley Street, Cumberland Street, Temple Lane, Eberle Street and Temple Street.

The first sign was unveiled outside the Lisbon pub on Stanley Street by the Deputy Lord Mayor, Councillor Sharon Sullivan, in a ceremony to be attended by representatives of the LGBT communities, local businesses and residents.

Councillor Nick Small, member for employment and skills, said: “We need to start unleashing the enormous economic potential of the Stanley Street quarter and as one of the first moves we have to show that this is our gay village.

“The new signs clearly show that we are recognising where the LGBT scene is based in the city and that it is a very important part of our city life.“

Candice Fonseca, proprietor of Delifonseca, said: “As a local business, we are delighted with the new signage which is the first tangible mark of real change to come.

“By showing visitors to our city where and what the Stanley Street Quarter is, businesses like ours will be able to benefit.”

Adam Simpson from the Liverpool LGB&T added: “The Liverpool LGB&T Network are proud to see such a visible indication of the joint work between the community, business and Liverpool City Council.

“We will continue to work together with the City Council to develop the Stanley Street Quarter into a first rate destination for residents and visitors.”

The unveiling takes place during the month-long Homotopia arts festival.

This weekend sees the catwalk competition for Alternative Miss Liverpool, which bills itself as having “no boundaries of gender, age or beauty just a window to creativity, love, fabulousness and expression”.

In an interview with Cambridge First she said: “I have experienced three types of discrimination – transphobia, homophobia and misogyny”.

“Since the transition to live as female I’m suddenly a second-class citizen. Suddenly my personal space was invaded and I started getting men touching me and being groped on the Tube.

“All this stuff I had not experienced before. I have also had complete strangers coming up asking me questions about my genitals which is completely rude.”

Ms Brown, who ranked 28th on the Independent on Sunday’s Pink List, making her the UK’s most influential trans person, entered into a civil partnership in 2009.

But she had to file for divorce from her then wife, Sylvia Knight, before they could become civil partners after her transition.

“When we were in court in Cambridge getting divorced we had to sort of convince ourselves what we were doing. However we came out holding hands and crying.

“We developed an understanding together and were interested in each other as people.”

In 2010, Ms Brown convinced Cambridge City Council to exceed the requirements of the Equality Act by refusing to discriminate against trans people applying for gender appropriate positions with the council or using single sex facilities provided by the council.

Cambridge can also boast having elected the UK’s first trans mayor, and three trans officials.

Ms Brown said: “I’m enjoying being a councillor and love this city and want to do the right thing by it.”

Read the full interview here.