Press Complaints Commission to examine Mail column

The Press Complaints Commission has announced it will examine a column in The Daily Mail by Jan Moir about the death of singer and actor Stephen Gately.

Moir’s comments within the column have provoked anger from fans of the singer, while 21,000 people have lodged complaints to the Press Complaints Commission regarding it. Moir was forced to publish a statement over the weekend denying any homophobic undertones in her writing.

Marks and Spencers and Nestle both demanded The Daily Mail moved its advertisements away from the offending page on the paper’s website in response to the public outcry over the comments.

The article has prompted the most complaints ever to the PCC regarding a newspaper article. Moirs’ comments in her column were widely condemned by the gay community with Stephen Fry and Derren Brown among the notable celebrities taking to Twitter to express their anger. Writer and broadcaster Charlie Brooker was also amongst critics of the Daily Mail article.