All posts tagged: Outed

Martin Clunes reveals initial ‘sympathy’ for ‘outed’ news presenter Huw Edwards

Martin Clunes reveals initial ‘sympathy’ for ‘outed’ news presenter Huw Edwards

Martin Clunes is set to portray disgraced news presenter Huw Edwards in 5’s upcoming factual drama, and has revealed that he initially felt “sympathy” for the News at Ten host when he was “outed in the newspapers” before realising it was “a whole different ballgame”.  The upcoming two-part series, Power: The Downfall Of Huw Edwards, explores how a vulnerable 17-year-old was groomed by one of the most powerful figures in television. © ©5 Broadcasting Limited / ©WonMartin Clunes plays Huw Edwards in the new drama In September 2024, Huw was handed a six-month suspended prison sentence for accessing indecent photographs of children as young as seven. What has Martin Clunes said about the scandal?  Reflecting on when Huw was first named as the BBC presenter at the centre of the scandal, Martin, 64, told the Press Association: “It was weird at the time because they wouldn’t name him, so lots of BBC presenters kept saying it wasn’t them, and it caught fire, and then it was a surprise when Huw Edwards was named. “I remember we …

Simon Hughes says he was target for Mail after being outed by Sun

Simon Hughes says he was target for Mail after being outed by Sun

Sir Simon Hughes outside the Rolls Building in London in 2021. Picture: PA Media Former Lib Dem MP Sir Simon Hughes has spoken out about how his private life became a target for tabloid reporting after he was “outed” as gay by The Sun. And he said was moved to sue Associated Newspapers Ltd (ANL) after being shown emails and payment records suggesting convicted phone hacker Greg Miskiw was employed by the Mail publisher to target him. The former deputy leader of the Liberal Democrats is one of seven people – including Prince Harry, Sir Elton John, Baroness Doreen Lawrence, Liz Hurley and Sadie Frost – suing ANL over allegations of unlawful information gathering. In his witness statement, Hughes said he was contacted by Sun political editor Trevor Kavanagh on 26 January 2006. At the time Hughes was favourite in the race to be the new Lib Dem leader. He said: “Mr Kavanagh told me that The Sun had obtained evidence of private telephone calls by me which showed that I had called a gay …

The ‘Reluctant Activist’: Being Outed as an Atheist in a Muslim-Majority Country

The ‘Reluctant Activist’: Being Outed as an Atheist in a Muslim-Majority Country

Secular Rescue’s mission is predominantly rooted in protecting emboldened atheist activists whose lives have become the targets of extremists because of public or social-media based human rights advocacy. It is relatively easy to spot an activist from a sideliner: nearly all or a majority of activist writing focuses on the inhumanity of hateful intolerance against those who choose no religion over some faith. However, many of those who seek emergency assistance from the Center for Inquiry’s Secular Rescue program are deemed “reluctant activists”: those who do not intentionally engage in public advocacy for freedom of conscience or the freedom to not believe in God but nevertheless become de facto activists. Such is the case of Ali, a young Tunisian ex-Muslim who was outed in his community, in a public way, as an apostate from Islam. He didn’t deny it and continued to try to live a secular life but was persistently harassed and unable to find work—declined because of his atheism. Like most atheists in Muslim-majority countries, early threats came from family: he was threatened …