News - Stephen Gately's record label Polydor has filed an official complaint with the Press Complaints Commission over Jan Moir's article about Stephen in the Daily Mail.



Jan Moir wrote that Stephen's death was "strange, lonely and troubling" and that it struck a blow to the "happy-ever-after myth of civil partnerships". She has since tried to back-track, denying that the article was in any way meant as homophobic.

Over 25,000 people have contacted the Press Complaints Commision (PCC) to complain about the article, and among various online petitions, a Facebook group has over 33,000 members calling for the Daily Mail to retract Jan Moir's hateful, homophobic article.

The PCC has already written to the Daily Mail in response to the complaints received, which is the most ever made about a single newspaper article. Hower the PCC have not yet made a decision as to whether or not to launch a full investigation. The Daily Mail have not yet given in to pressure to sack Jan Moir, and co-incedentally, the Code Committee for the PCC just so happens to be chaired by the Editor of the Daily Mail, Paul Dacre.
This has led to the 'Boycott Daily Mail" website being launched at: http://boycottdailymail.com/

Action is only likely to be taken if Stephen Gately's family become involved. Jan Moir had included them in her article - published the day before Stephen's funeral: "The Gately family are - perhaps understandably - keen to register their boy's demise on the national consciousness as nothing more than a tragic accident." As if to claim that there was more to Stephen's death, she added: "Whatever the cause of death is, it is not, by any yardstick, a natural one. Let us be absolutely clear about this. All that has been established so far is that Stephen Gately was not murdered."

Suggesting that there was a more sinister aspect to Gately's pure image, Moir concluded: "As a gay rights champion, I am sure he would want to set an example to any impressionable young men who may want to emulate what they might see as his glamorous routine. For once again, under the carapace of glittering, hedonistic celebrity, the ooze of a very different and more dangerous lifestyle has seeped out for all to see."

Moir later tried to play the scandal down, issuing a statement that said it was "never my intention" to upset readers. "In what is clearly a heavily orchestrated internet campaign I think it is mischievous in the extreme to suggest that my article has homophobic and bigoted undertones," Moir added.

Donations have been flooding in to Stephen Gately's favourite charity, since he died on October 10th, 2009. A spokesperson for Caudwell Children has said that offers have been pouring in from fans wanting to support Stephen's chosen cause, as he was a Goodwill Ambassador for the Stoke-based charity. She said: "We can't thank Andrew (Cowles, Stephen's husband) and his family enough. Since the announcement, we have received so many phone calls from people asking about donations. It's amazing."

The Caudwell Children charity works with sick and disabled children throughout the UK, providing individual donations of specialist equipment, treatment and therapy. Over £25,000 has already been raised. You can donate more here: http://www.justgiving.com/stephengately/

Meanwhile, Stephen's partner Andrew Cowles has reportedly fled to London as he cannot face going back to the homes in Ireland and Spain that he shared with Stephen. Ronan Keating has cancelled promotion for his upcoming solo album, and has flown to LA to take a break.