Don’t know why people think kids learning about gay relationships in school will turn them gay. I learned about World War Two, but am yet to invade Poland.
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Benjamin Butterworth
@benjaminbutter
Journalist and broadcaster. Senior Reporter for 
, often found on TV. Also written for and .
, often found on TV. Also written for and .Benjamin Butterworth’s posts
Hang on. Dominic Cummings just said he went home to his wife, who was sick, during the lockdown, then left his home and returned to Downing Street in the afternoon. That’s a breach in itself.
My beloved grandmother, my whole world, died earlier today. Everything I am is thanks to her. She saved me from violent, addicted parents to give me a chance at life. She gave me love and discipline and dreams. I am heartbroken. I cannot imagine a day in the world without her.
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Even the founder of Twitter has quit Twitter.
Kirsty Young’s monologue on the final departure of the Queen is utterly beautiful.
From
Charlie Proctor
Only a matter of days until Dominic Cummings is caught drinking at 22:30 to test his eyesight.
British Jews owe you no explanation for the actions of the Israeli government. They do not need to explain their views on Middle Eastern conflicts to live without racism. It isn’t complicated.
This normal looking photo is an historic first: the gay prime minister of Luxembourg and his husband meeting with the lesbian prime minister of Serbia and her girlfriend.
Progress often seems far too slow. But it’s real, and it’s worth celebrating 🌈
This is just nasty and unbecoming. Meghan looks like a school bully.
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Harry Styles needs to stop cosplaying as gay. Quit toying with us and our experience for your own commercial exposure.
My mum has lost her job as a school cleaner because they found out she had a drug dealing conviction *23 years* ago. How can our criminal justice system say it aims to rehabilitate people when someone who hasn’t re-offended can be made unemployed for a crime decades later?
A candidate for the most powerful job in the world, proudly displaying the love for his husband. A message to every gay kid in America that they can be anything they want to be. Even president.
Prince Harry has donated $1.5m from his book proceeds to a charity that helps people living with HIV/AIDS in Africa. He founded the charity with Prince Seeiso of Lesotho to honour Diana.
Rishi Sunak describing himself as an example of Britain's meritocracy because his parents are migrants.
What he doesn't mention is that he went to a £40k a year school and is married to the daughter of a billionaire venture capitalist, who he worked for before becoming an MP.
Channel 4 launched an online streaming service *before* Netflix (or BBC, ITV etc.) and it was able to take that risk precisely because it is publicly owned and able to take risks in the interests of innovation. This seems to have been totally overlooked.
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Happy couple has baby; baby healthy
On A Level results day, I collected my grades, then went and got voted off the Weakest Link after Anne Robinson asked me if I was a virgin.
This is heart wrenching. Gareth Thomas says that a journalist found out he is HIV positive and told his parents, before even he could. If journalists were treated like doctors, you would get struck off for behaviour like that.
From
BBC Radio 5 Live
I had thought the death of the Queen would feel like it’s time for constitutional monarchy to end, but rather unexpectedly it has convinced me of why it is so important.
When the govt told us to stay inside, not see our loved ones, cancel weddings and miss funerals, we did it. When they told us to go out and support hospitality, we did it. When they told us to wear face masks, we did it.
How dare they say we are to blame for their mishandling.
The Philip Schofield debacle has gone too far. An adult having a workplace affair with another adult is inappropriate, but it is hardly illegal. Obliterating their life and career in front of millions is deeply cruel, and I fear for Schofield’s wellbeing.
Imagine being so bad you get sacked from a Cabinet Chris Grayling is still in.
Clap for the NHS
Only two days ago the Queen put on smiles to ensure the smooth transition between prime ministers. Learning how poorly the Queen is today shows how extraordinary her commitment to her people is. Every day of her life has been, as she pledged in 1947, devoted to service.
It's got lost in all the chaos, but MPs have voted to make LGBT inclusive sex and relationship education the law - by a huge margin of 538 to 21. After weeks of harmful, difficult debate about the rights of LGBT people, this is such a great step forward.
inews.co.uk/news/education
Spain: Why haven’t you paid us €12m in tax that you owe?
Shakira:
twitter.com/notsctop10play
Pretty sure that wasn’t ‘walking’!!
I find the hypocrisy of Prince Harry breathtaking. After spending his entire time complaining of media leaks and manipulation by royals, he then reveals what Charles privately said right after burying his own dad. That seems pretty twisted to me.
Exclusive: BBC staff have been banned from attending LGBT pride events and told they could be suspended if they breach the new rules. David Jordan, the head of editorial policy and standards, took the decision on Wednesday.
Uncomfortable to see so many people mocking Sasha Walpole, the woman who took Prince Harry’s virginity, for her looks and size. She didn’t say a bad word about Harry or Meghan - she just wanted to take control of her own story after being outed. What ever happened to #BeKind?
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You support diversity right up to the point it means something, and then you don't. You prioritise avoiding vague corporate discomfort over the basic human rights of some of your own Hungarian fans.
Amazing! These Polish MPs coordinated their outfits to make the pride flag at the swearing in of their homophobic president 🙌🌈
Not sure it was the best branding decision for Matt Hancock to launch his leadership bid in front of the word ‘cock’ at head height with a load of arrows pointing at himself.
Even Agatha Christie couldn't write this. Rebekah Vardy's PR, who seems to have admitted leaking in messages, was told to hand her phone over to the court. But the phone "regrettably" fell into the North Sea after a boat she was on hit a wave shortly after the last hearing.
Today marks *10 years* since my mother last touched heroin 🙏 after battling drug addict since she was a teenager. She lost her home, her kids and her self-respect. Now she has been a decade sober and doing better than ever. It is the most extraordinary achievement.
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“Performative activism”? She got shot in the head. All you’ve managed is to write shit on the internet.
In 3 days at Manchester Pride, with thousands of people drinking in the streets, I didn’t see a single fight, not even a scrap. Can you imagine if that was football lads? The way this country obsesses over LGBT people, when the real threat is a crisis of toxic straight men.
I was standing outside Buckingham Palace as the Queen made her final journey through those gates. But I took my earphones out and put my phone away. It was a moment to feel, not to film. And what a daunting, sad moment it was.
This is horrifying. Blockades to stop people buying books in Wales. What next, newspapers? It isn’t based in science, it’s based in control. This never happened in the full lockdown and it shouldn’t happen for one day more in Wales, .
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When I turned 30 last year, there was nobody else I wanted to spend it with. She woke me up in my childhood bed, we had cake, watched Bedknobs & Broomsticks and chatted for hours. We did it again when she turned 90. It hurts so much now. But Im glad she knew how much I loved her.
Except he’s only ever dated women and never, ever said anything substantive that suggests he’s pursued a man, despite endlessly wanting people to think he has with vague comments.
There isn't another human on Earth who could command this scale of affection and gratitude as Queen Elizabeth II has. People lining the streets of London as far as the eye can see; billions watching on TVs the world over. What a remarkable send-off.
This is powerful, and truly awful: “I’m sitting here waiting for them to come. There is no one to help me or my family. I’m just sitting with them and my husband. And they will come for people like me and kill me.”
Has she joined ASOS?
Quote
EXCLUSIVE: Shamima Begum seen in make-up and Western clothes as she seeks break with IS past.
Tracked down by the Telegraph, the one-time London schoolgirl declined to be interviewed, but agreed to pose for photographs.
telegraph.co.uk/news/2021/03/1
What happened to his accent??
Boris Johnson announces 1.25% rise in National Insurance.
That means millionaire landlords pay nothing more, businesses pay nothing more, pensioners taking home cash from assets pay nothing… but a young person with no savings, no assets and stagnant wages is forced to pay £££s.
Get back to me when you’ve turned your back on the pay cheque.
Quote
Brexit Party MEPs turn their backs in European Anthem at opening session of European Parliament
Sharon Osborne, a woman worth $200m, just said on BBC One that she forced a member of staff go into her burning house to collect artwork, then sacked him when they didn’t laugh about it the next day. That’s.. vile? 🤔📺
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For the uninitiated: John Fashanu disowned his brother Justin Fashanu for coming out as gay, and his brother later killed himself. In 2012, John Fashanu claimed his brother was not gay and was said he was an attention seeker.
Repugnant.
Emily is absolutley right: coronavirus is not the great leveller. Yes, everyone is vulnerable, but some are far more exposed to that vulnerability than others, and they are often our lowest paid workers.
From
Gareth Noble
The US has banned vaping following of six deaths. Meanwhile guns remain freely available despite 39,000 deaths a year.
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White House announces FDA is going to take flavored e-cigarettes off the market
This is stunning. Dominic Cummings travelled across the country to Durham to stay in another home *while symptomatic* with coronavirus. His wife claimed in the Spectator they had been in London. Prof Ferguson and Scottish CMO resigned for much less.
This is horrifying - crowds chanting “Shame!” outside a primary school at the name of a gay teacher.
You cannot make a child gay. But you can make them hate. And you can make innocent gay Muslim kids hate themselves with abhorrent situations like this.
twitter.com/_salmananwar/s
Or they could tell boys to stop upskirting.
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Schools are telling girls to wear shorts under skirts to stop 'upskirting'
mirror.co.uk/news/politics/
I am stunned. The Met managed to track down my Southbank attackers and one of them has been arrested. Incredibly satisfying news.
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Just got mugged on a post-work walk down the southbank. Three men punched me, strangled me until I couldn't breathe and threatened me with a knife. They stole my phone and even ran off with my glasses so I was totally disorientated. Little shits.
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Asked for clarity on confusion, BBC said pride is fine if it is seen as a “a celebration”, but if the “trans issue" (as it was described) is involved then it passes as a protest and news and current affairs staff should not attend.
A young person never complained, the police said there was no evidence of criminality - both before and after The Sun story - and yet a 61-year-old man's private life was mauled by millions, and he now lies in hospital, his life in tatters and wife begging for it to stop.
The only people whose mentality needs challenging are people like you who would rather spread hate and animosity than celebrate a happy family bringing new life into the world.
Very moving to see Will Smith win the best actor Oscar for his portrayal of John Prescott.
When I was at school a bully threw a brick at me and cracked my head open. But I never joined fucking ISIS.
Quote
London Bridge terrorist 'turned to ISIS after being bullied at school' mirror.co.uk/news/uk-news/l
As the world piles in with their view of Prince Harry and Meghan Markle, I can’t help but think about what Meghan said just months ago.
"Not many people have asked if I’m ok ... it’s a very real thing to be going through behind the scenes."
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Just received this email for daring to criticise Meghan Markle.
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Your suggestion that kids knowing gay people exist is not “age appropriate” is the oldest homophobic trope in the book - smearing gays as predatory and peadophiles. This speech is courting serious bigotry for the sake of pandering to a section of your core vote.
You don’t have to be a world gender expert to respect other people living as they were born to live. I stick by every word, Piers 💪🏳️🌈
Owen Jones has been found guilty of bullying his own colleague, alongside other upheld complaints, Private Eye reports. Glad to see the finally seeing through him. Owen is a profoundly unkind man who has trolled me online - sometimes unprovoked - and it was horrible.
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I hope people don’t forget his mum died days ago. The most extreme pressure imaginable.
All the homophobes saying it’s too confusing for kids to see gay characters, but think it’s totally normal for aardvarks to work as school teachers.
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#Arthur's Mr. Ratburn Comes Out as Gay, Gets Married in Season 22 Premiere tvline.com/2019/05/13/art
If every school in Britain stopped mentioning that gay people exist, you would have no fewer gay people. What you would have is more scared, vulnerable gay people, failed by the education system we are all meant to rely on.
This man was homophobically abused for putting a rainbow flag in his window for . So his neighbours got together and put pride flags in all their windows in solidarity.
There are far, far more good people than there are bigots.
From
BBC North West
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If you’re so ignorant as to not even know the name of the winning Vice President candidate in the UKs closest ally, then youre too ignorant to be shaping laws in the House of Lords
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#FreedomDay from Heaven, central London, as nightclubs open again after 16 months
Tonight I was compared to the Taliban - a group that beheads and murders women and gay people - for supporting trans people’s existence in society. A disgusting indictment of the assault on LGBT people and their allies. There is no low these people won’t go to.
This is a huge victory for the LGBT activists and allies around the globe who stood up to the brutal leader of Brunei and won. Now we need to push countries like Brunei to stop criminalising people who are born gay altogether.
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Did you even read the sign you’ve tweeted? It literally says in small font that there are women’s and men’s toilets, it’s just that those two sets of toilets are up the stairs.
I don't care if I'm meant to hate it all as a young person: I am excited for the coronation. Super excited. The pomp and glory and history and celebration of 🇬🇧 fills me with joy. It's worth it for that.
As a mark of respect, This Morning will no longer be offering the chance to have heating and instead be playing Spin to Win for the opportunity to queue jump to see the Queen’s coffin x
My mother has a lot of explaining to do.
This is *Amazing*. I found a shop in the capital of Kosovo called Hillary, that just sells versions of pantsuits worn by 🤩👸
Dear ,
The child of anti-gay parents is as likely to be gay as the child of any other parents. Your demands hand the power to homophobic adults to stop their kids understanding and feeling safe in themselves. That is profoundly wrong.
I feel so proud seeing long queues of fellow Britons getting their booster jabs. While the conspiracy theorists and covid deniers are hysterical on Twitter, in the real world people are taking responsibility and following the scientists ✌️
Extraordinary that Dr Jenny Harries continues to dish out advice largely unquestioned 'because of the science'. Weeks ago she backed people going to sports events like Cheltenham, saying the virus wont last long outdoors. It was dangerous tosh we're paying the price for.
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It is understood senior management is concerned about the BBC being seen to take a side in the debate around trans issues, and has bracketed LGBT prides as political, alongside the likes of Black Lives Matter protests.
200 million people just watched a Serbian lady wash her hands and sing about Meghan Markle’s hair. Only at #eurovision
This is so uncomfortable. The Loose Women pile in one-by-one on Kim Woodburn, who is clearly vulnerable, then act surprised when she breaks down. Their next item on mental health will feel disingenuous after this flogging-for-fun.
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This #loosewomen interview was an absolute disgrace, bullying is what it was. The panel should be a shamed of themselves.
Chris Grayling’s trial shift as a waiter went exactly as expected.
twitter.com/louisemensch/s
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Here’s the shocking footage of Sharon Osborne laughing about making an assistant go into her burning home, removing an oxygen mask from him and then firing him the next day for not finding it funny.
Everyone laughs when she says it's a true story.
Rang up my local GP’s office.
Me: “I need to see a doctor, please.”
“Of course. Our next available appointment is on Wednesday… 13 April.”
Me: “Why so long to see a doctor?”
“No, 13 April is next available phone call. They’ll assess if you can see a doctor after that.”
🤨👎
Soho is absolute bliss this evening. Streets filled with people people eating al fresco, people signing outside restaurants to attract business. It’s heaven.
There are 155 replies to this holocaust survivor telling his story. Almost every single one is mocking him and denying the Holocaust. Dark, evil views find light on social media.
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Oldest survivor of Nazi death camp on how burning bodies kept prisoners warm mirror.co.uk/news/world-new
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What made you, as a rich, influential woman with vast amounts of followers, think it was ok to drive a pile on to a journalist doing her job? What stopped you replying in private? Or blanking out the name? Extraordinary you claim to care about mental health then behave like this.
Exactly one week ago the Queen received the new prime minister at Balmoral. Today the prime minister receives the queen's coffin at RAF Northolt. What an extraordinary few days in British history.
I’m off out clubbing and, honestly, I can’t quite believe it’a real. There’s been an excited grin fixed on my face all night. Like being an hour from walking - or rather dancing - into a parallel universe.
This boy arrived in the UK from Iraq as a refugee as a toddler, and was given a life changing operation by the NHS. He pledged to become a doctor to repay his thanks. Yesterday, aged 18, he won a place at Cambridge to study medicine 😭😍