Gay News Trial

In 1976 Mary Whitehouse brought a private prosecution of blasphemy (Whitehouse v. Lemon) against both the newspaper and its editor, Denis Lemon, over the publication of James Kirkup's poem The Love that Dares to Speak its Name in the issue dated 3 June 1976. Some members of Leicester GLF joined other demonstrators outside the Old Bailey seen pictured here. Denis Lemon was found guilty when the case came to court in July 1977 and sentenced to a suspended nine-month prison sentence and personally fined ₤1,000. When all totalled up, fines and court costs awarded against Lemon and Gay News amounted to nearly ₤10,000. After a campaign and several appeals the suspended prison sentence was dropped, but the conviction remained in force. The case drew enormous media coverage at the time.

In 2002 BBC Radio 4 broadcast a play about the trial.

Gay News Ltd ceased trading on 15 April 1983.

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