Boyzone’s record label, Polydor, have officially complained to the British Press Complaints Commission about a Daily Mail article relating to Stephen Gately’s death.

Writing in her October 20 column, Jan Moir proffered: “Whatever the cause of death is, it is not, by any yardstick, a natural one. Let us be absolutely clear about this. All that has been established so far is that Stephen Gately was not murdered. And I think if we are going to be honest, we would have to admit that the circumstances surrounding his death are more than a little sleazy.
“After a night of clubbing, Cowles and Gately took a young Bulgarian man back to their apartment. It is not disrespectful to assume that a game of canasta with 25-year-old Georgi Dochev was not what was on the cards.

“As a gay rights champion, I am sure he would want to set an example to any impressionable young men who may want to emulate what they might see as his glamorous routine. For once again, under the carapace of glittering, hedonistic celebrity, the ooze of a very different and more dangerous lifestyle has seeped out for all to see.”

The Press Complaints Commission has also received over 25,000 complaints from individuals upset by Moir’s comments, which have triggered widespread accusations of homophobia.

See our special tribute to Stephen, including the full text of Boyzone's address, in the latest issue of Hot Press, out now.