The editors8217; choice

Then, just four weeks later, came the Matthew Parris bombshell. The Timesand Sun columnist was invited on to BBC28217;s Newsnight to discuss the resignation of the Welsh Secretary, Ron Davies. Parris, a former Tory MP who long ago acknowledged his own homosexuality, told presenter Jeremy Paxman: 8220;There are two gay members of the Cabinet at least.8221; Paxman8217;s eyebrows rose as he asked if there were two. Parris replied: 8220;Well, Chris Smith the Culture Secretary is openly gay and I think Peter Mandelson is certainly gay.8221; The reply clearly threw Paxman, who said: 8220;I think we will just move on from there. I8217;m not quite sure where he Mandelson is on that.8221;

Kelner called from his home to ensure that the Independent carried a short article. None of the journalists involved in this exercise were surprised by the revelation. They had heard it and read it before. It has long been a common assumption that Mandelson is gay and that the fact is of no particular consequence. But the fact that a man of Parris8217;s stature had said it on TV turned it into a story.

Somepapers, such as the Mirror, which carried a prominent 12 paragraphs on page three, agreed. For Yelland it had a special resonance. He was at dinner that night, along with his political editor Trevor Kavanagh, when his mobile phone rang. As Kavanagh raced back to the Commons, he returned to the office. Here, he thought, was the chance to support Mandelson and to announce a U-turn in Sun policy. He wasn8217;t, by some accounts, allowed to make this decision entirely free from government interference. It is understood that Yelland received calls from Tony Blair8217;s official spokesman, Alastair Campbell, and from Mandelson. He placed a story on page two of the final edition, with the headline Mandy outed on TV8217;.

He also wrote a new leading article which presented a new Sun policy to its 10 million readers. After claiming that the 8220;outing will prove to be a major turning point in British politics8221;, it said: 8220;The Sun knows that Mandelson has struggled with this issue of his sexuality for manyyears. So the furore was a controversy waiting to happen. The fact is: Mandelson is gay. He also has a brilliant mind. He is also a talented politician. And it is also true that times have changed. We say to Mandelson: Tell the truth. You will win respect for your honesty.8221; If the Parris statement didn8217;t surprise journalists, then the Sun8216;s leader certainly did.

The Guardian editor, Alan Rusbridger, decided to publish a short account along with a leader criticising Parris and the Sun for outing Mandelson. It was 8220;a gross invasion of privacy8221; because it was up to the MP to decide whether or not he wished to make public his sexual orientation.

The Daily Telegraph carried the story while its columnist Boris Johnson took a swipe at Parris. A leader in the Daily Mail held to an impeccably liberal view. Mandelson8217;s sexuality was his own affair and, anyway, being gay was an 8220;utterly unshocking revelation8221;.

With stories and comments in several Sunday newspapers, it wasclear that the story just won8217;t go away. The Sunday Times said that Paxman had hand-delivered a note to Mandelson8217;s home expressing regret for not interrupting Parris and stopping him mentioning Mandelson8217;s name.

8212; The Observer News Service