By Lori Carnochan and Emma Craig
Columnist Jan Moir, from the Daily Mail has publicly apologised following her controversial article on Stephen Gately’s death last week.
Moir was nationally condemned for writing so-called ‘homophobic’ and ‘hateful’ comments regarding the death of Gately in the Daily Mail.
Addressing Gately’s family and friends, she said: “I would like to say sorry if I have caused distress by the insensitive timing of the column, published so close to the funeral.”
The apology comes after 22,000 people complained to the Press Complaints Commission, the largest amount of complaints ever received for a newspaper article.
More complaints were made in the weekend following the article than the regulator has received in the past five years.
She went on to say: “Absolutely none of this had anything to do with his sexuality. If he had been a heterosexual member of a boy band, I would have written exactly the same article.”
After Moir insinuated Gately and his partner, Andy Cowles had been engaging in sexual liaisons with 25-year-old Bulgarian Georgi Dochev and had been involved with narcotics
In her original article, Jan Moir said: “The sugar coating on this fatality is so saccharine-thick that it obscures whatever bitter truth lies beneath’ and ‘that that the circumstances surrounding his [Gateley’s] death are more than a little sleazy.”
Members of the public have made their feelings clear about the apologetic response given by Jan Moir in the Daily Mail’s website.
Joanne Butler, 23, from Blackpool said: “Today’s response is truly to save your job, not because you give a toss what people think of you.
“If you cared what the public that buy the Daily Mail think and had any respect for Stephen’s grieving family & friends you would resign out of respect.”
Sue Smith, from Newport said: “This second article is a pointless half hearted attempt to get yourself out of the mire after your first insensitive insulting article.
“You were and are trying to smear this young man’s name at a time that his family were still trying to understand and come to terms with his death.”
