Compiled By GayToday
London--OutRage! has
accused the former Conservative MP and ex-Defence Secretary, Michael
Portillo, of "hypocrisy and homophobia".
The gay rights group was responding to Mr. Portillo's
self-outing in an interview in The Times newspaper.
Portillo is widely tipped as a potential future Conservative
party leader and Prime Minister. He is the most senior Tory MP to
admit to having gay sex; although he claims he has not had sexual
relations with men since he entered public life a generation ago.
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OutRage! London's Pete
Tatchell and former UK Minister of Defense and recently self-outed
MP Michael Portillo |
Following Mr. Portillo's revelation of his past gay relationships,
Peter Tatchell of OutRage! said:
"Michael Portillo is a hypocrite and homophobe. Despite his own gay
relationships, he has consistently opposed gay human rights and has never
shown any sympathy or support for the gay community.
"Portillo is no friend of queer people. He voted for Section 28,
against an equal age of consent and, as Defense Secretary, he enforced the
ban on lesbians and gays in the armed forces.
"His homosexuality should not be used to bar his selection as a
Tory candidate. It is his homophobia that renders him unfit and unworthy
to hold public office."
Just before the 1997 General Election, OutRage! erected a giant
billboard in Portillo's constituency emblazoned with the words: 'Portillo
Screws Queer Soldiers', and simultaneously leafleted local voters about
his anti-gay record in Parliament.
The preceding summer of 1996, on the occasion of the annual Pride
March, OutRage! erected the same billboard at the end of Whitehall, near
the House of Commons, in protest at his policy, as Defense Secretary, of
witch-hunting of lesbian and gay military personnel.
On the
night parliament voted against an equal age of consent in 1994, when
news of the defeat on equality came through, 5,000 lesbians and gays
massed outside the House of Commons spontaneously broke into a chant
of 'Portillo is a faggot', furious that he voted against
equalization at 16.
"OutRage! had Portillo on its outing hit-list because of his
homophobia and hypocrisy. Under Britain's draconian libel laws, we
could not name him because there was no one prepared to go public
with what they knew about his secret gay life. Now he has outed
himself. |
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"What a pity Michael is still refusing to say anything positive
about gay life and relationships. His continued unwillingness to express
any empathy for the lesbian and gay community shows that he remains a
cold-hearted, compassionless homophobe.
"If he really cares, why doesn't he speak out against antigay
discrimination?
"Portillo has not changed. His dismissal of his past homosexual
affairs as youthful experiences implies that he views gay relationships as
an immature indiscretion", said Tatchell.
"He has evaded the truth for a quarter of a century. How do we know
he is now telling the truth when he claims that he has not had gay sex
since he entered public life?
"It is very unusual for someone who has had an eight-year gay
affair, as Portillo had with Nigel Hart, to suddenly cease being
homosexual.
"Even if they subsequently marry, these men tend to have
occasional, discreet gay relations throughout the rest of their lives. I
would be extremely surprised if Mr. Portillo has, as he claims, never had
sex with a man in the last 25 years", said Peter Tatchell.
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