GAY Bar Controversy: The Editor Responds

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“Having spoken personally to Jeremy Joseph (the G-A-Y promoter, pictured) and the door staff involved, I am satisfied that the incident was at the most likely to have been a misunderstanding that may have been caused by the door staff’s foreign accent.

I must point out to readers that Mr Joseph was visibly disturbed by the allegations and that both he and his staff denied the series of events as reported on PinkNews.co.uk.

I am also happy to inform readers that whilst PinkNews.co.uk staff including both an assistant and myself attempted to contact Mr Joseph, we were unable to reach him.

We accept that he claims that he doesn’t have an assistant or secretary and that his body clock is skewed due to running late nightclubs. Therefore, our insistence on a 1pm deadline was not suitable for him.

Mr Joseph informed me that he would summarily sack any staff who were offensive to gay or lesbian clients and that he employs only gay staff.

Whilst the fact remains that two girls were turned away from G-A-Y bar, it is not possible for either PinkNews.co.uk or G-A-Y to prove conclusively the content of the conversation between the door staff and the girls in question.

Therefore, we are happy to apologise for any distress caused to Mr Joseph or his bar and assure him that PinkNews.co.uk relied on the integrity of its sources and acted in the public interest by publishing the article.

On this occasion, for the reasons given above, I have instructed for the article to be withdrawn.”