The Evolution of the Gay Male Public Sphere in England and Wales, 1967- C.1983 by Charles Smith

Total Page:16

File Type:pdf, Size:1020Kb

The Evolution of the Gay Male Public Sphere in England and Wales, 1967- C.1983 by Charles Smith The Evolution of the Gay Male Public Sphere in England and Wales, 1967- c.1983 By Charles Smith Submitted in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the award of Doctor of Philosophy of Loughborough University © by Charles Smith, 2014 Abstract The Evolution of the Gay Male Public Sphere in England and Wales 1967-c.1983 This thesis is a reassessment of gay male politics in England and Wales during the period between the decriminalisation of homosexual acts in private in 1967 and the HIV epidemic of the early 1980s. It looks beyond the activities of the revolutionary Gay Liberation Front and its offshoots which have dominated previous accounts. Instead it considers a broader range of social and political organisations which developed for gay men in the seventies: including reformist NGOS such as the Campaign for Homosexual Equality, the gay club scene, and publications such as Gay News. Through a detailed consideration of these less formally radical enterprises it argues that the seventies saw the creation of a broadly Habermasian ‘public sphere’ of gay male life. The gay male public sphere was a set of social spaces, political campaigns, and communications media which were explicitly aligned to a gay male identity and had no direct precedent in previous queer public cultures. However, this was not precisely analogous to gay men ‘Coming Out’ as the GLF understood the term. Participation in the gay male public did not necessarily involve openly declaring your sexuality to all possible audiences. It was also not necessarily a radical challenge to the state and existing society and, this thesis argues, gay male politics in the seventies was characterised as much by people who wanted to work within existing systems as it was by those who wanted to overturn them. This thesis also considers the limits that were placed on the gay male public sphere, through an account of the operation of the Sexual Offences Act and Mary Whitehouse’s prosecution of Gay News for blasphemous Libel. As such it is a contribution to debates about the nature and extent of Britain’s postwar ‘Permissive Society.’ 2 Certificate of Originality Thesis Access Conditions and Deposit Agreement Students should consult the guidance notes on the electronic thesis deposit and the access conditions in the University’s Code of Practice on Research Degree Programmes Author…Charles Smith………………..……. Title…The Evolution of the Gay Male Public Sphere in England and Wales, 1967-c.1983 I, Charles Smith of 9 Bedford Gardens, Wokingham, Berkshire, RG41 3HZ, would like to deposit The Evolution of the Gay Male Public Sphere in England and Wales, 1967-c.1983,hereafter referred to as the “Work”, once it has successfully been examined in Loughborough University Institutional Repository Status of access RESTRICTED Moratorium Period Three years, ending 01/05 2017 Status of access approved by (CAPITALS):…………………………………………………………………… Supervisor (Signature)………………………………………………...…………………………………... School of……………………………………………………………………...………………………………… Author's Declaration I confirm the following : CERTIFICATE OF ORIGINALITY This is to certify that I am responsible for the work submitted in this thesis, that the original work is my own except as specified in acknowledgements or in footnotes, and that neither the thesis nor the original work therein has been submitted to this or any other institution for a degree NON-EXCLUSIVE RIGHTS The licence rights granted to Loughborough University Institutional Repository through this agreement are entirely non-exclusive and royalty free. I am free to publish the Work in its present version or future versions elsewhere. I agree that Loughborough University Institutional Repository administrators or any third party with whom Loughborough University Institutional Repository has an agreement to do so may, without changing content, convert the Work to any medium or format for the purpose of future preservation and accessibility. DEPOSIT IN LOUGHBOROUGH UNIVERSITY INSTITUTIONAL REPOSITORY 3 I understand that open access work deposited in Loughborough University Institutional Repository will be accessible to a wide variety of people and institutions - including automated agents - via the World Wide Web. An electronic copy of my thesis may also be included in the British Library Electronic Theses On-line System (EThOS). I understand that once the Work is deposited, a citation to the Work will always remain visible. Removal of the Work can be made after discussion with Loughborough University Institutional Repository, who shall make best efforts to ensure removal of the Work from any third party with whom Loughborough University Institutional Repository has an agreement. Restricted or Confidential access material will not be available on the World Wide Web until the moratorium period has expired. - That I am the author of the Work and have the authority to make this agreement and to hereby give Loughborough University Institutional Repository administrators the right to make available the Work in the way described above. - That I have exercised reasonable care to ensure that the Work is original, and does not to the best of my knowledge break any UK law or infringe any third party’s copyright or other Intellectual Property Right. I have read the University’s guidance on third party copyright material in theses. - The administrators of Loughborough University Institutional Repository do not hold any obligation to take legal action on behalf of the Depositor, or other rights holders, in the event of breach of Intellectual Property Rights, or any other right, in the material deposited. The statement below shall apply to ALL copies: This copy has been supplied on the understanding that it is copyright material and that no quotation from the thesis may be published without proper acknowledgement. Restricted/confidential work: All access and any copying shall be strictly subject to written permission from the University Dean of School and any external sponsor, if any. Author's signature……………………………………..Date…………………………………...…………...…… user’s declaration: for signature during any Moratorium period (Not Open work): I undertake to uphold the above conditions: Date Name (CAPITALS) Signature Address 4 Contents Acknowledgements 6 Abbreviations 8 Tables and Figures 9 Introduction 10 Reassessing Coming Out 11 The Gay Male Public Sphere 19 Why Talk about a Public Sphere? Responding to the new British Queer History 25 Parameters, Definitions and Sources 37 Chapter One: ‘New Law But No New Deal?’ Gay Men and Permissive Law Reform 57 The Silences of Law Reform 60 The Operation of the Act 65 The Legal Regulation of the Gay Male Public Sphere 80 Public Sex and the New Gay Politics 90 Conclusion 99 Chapter Two: Gay NGOs and the Campaign for Homosexual Equality 101 ‘Make Friends Through CHE’: Changing the Nature of the Gay Social Scene 104 Political Debates and Communication 111 Political Action and Gay Men’s Citizenship 119 Conclusion 125 Chapter Three: ‘But you can’t share in something you don’t know about’: Gay News 127 and the evolution of the Gay Press ‘Just like Any Other Newspaper’: Gay News, Newspaper Form and Identity Politics 130 ‘Putting the sex back into homosexual?’ Gender, sex and commercialism 145 Conclusion 162 Chapter Four: Coming Out and Going Out? The Commercial Scene 164 Gay Guides and the Emergence of the ‘Gay Scene’ 168 Nighthawks: Gay Activism and the Commercial Scene 179 ‘Heaven is Gay Power!’: Ultradiscos and gay consumerism 192 Conclusion 206 Chapter 5: Opposing the Gay Male Public Sphere: the Gay News Trial 208 ‘An Attack on Gay News is an attack on us all’: The mobilisation of the Gay Male 212 Public Sphere ‘A kind of re-crucifixion’: Mary Whitehouse, Blasphemy and ‘the gay lobby’ 227 Conclusion 241 Conclusion 244 Bibliography 254 5 Acknowledgements The line of thinking that produced this thesis began when I was just short of twenty years old, with a tutorial essay titled ‘How Permissive was the Permissive Society?’ As I write these acknowledgements I am around a month past thirty and struck by the people I have had the luck to know in that tumultuous decade and the impossibility of doing justice to them all in the few words which follow. First off I must thank Peter Ghosh for setting me that essay and being an inspiring undergraduate tutor. Secondly John Davis, whose special subject on sixties London (‘Sex, Drugs, Rock and Roll and Town Planning’) influenced so much of my subsequent approach and who was an incredibly encouraging Masters supervisor. Marcus Collins supervised this thesis. Daniel Conway, Siobhan Lambert-Hurley and Dave Berry all read sections as part of end of year reviews. As a commuting PHD student my community has been supplied by the IHR’s History Lab - a source of support, intellectual stimulation, and, crucially, excuses for going to the pub. Special thanks must go to David Turner, my co-chair Sally Osborn, and Guy Beckett. Outside of History Lab Craig Griffiths read early parts of my work and put up with me being frequently late to our coffees at the IHR. In the last months of writing up Justin Bengry has been a particularly encouraging and supportive reader, as well as wonderful company. Additional thanks are due to Helen Smith for allowing me to see her unpublished PHD thesis. Gratitude is due to Ken Owen and Martin White, for many things, but especially for that night they spent complaining about Habermas in The Bookbinders, when I gradually realised, six months late, what my Masters thesis had actually been about. My first ‘proper’ bosses, Norma Potter and Gaye Morgan of the Codrington, for coping with such a dazed 22- year old employee and supplying one of the best places to write in Oxford. David Buckle for so much, but especially for being so supportive during my most recent job search. Martin McNulty, for putting up with my constant jejune enquires about the contemporary gay scene. Shani Chachamu, especially for her sterling work reading the entire internet and opening my eyes up to debates and ideas of which I would never otherwise have been aware.
Recommended publications
  • Human Rights, Sexual Orientation and Gender Identity in the Commonwealth
    Human Rights, Sexual Orientation and Gender Identity in The Commonwealth Struggles for Decriminalisation and Change Edited by Corinne Lennox and Matthew Waites Human Rights, Sexual Orientation and Gender Identity in The Commonwealth: Struggles for Decriminalisation and Change Edited by Corinne Lennox and Matthew Waites © Human Rights Consortium, Institute of Commonwealth Studies, School of Advanced Study, University of London, 2013 This book is published under a Creative Commons Attribution- NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International (CC BY-NCND 4.0) license. More information regarding CC licenses is available at https:// creativecommons.org/licenses/ Available to download free at http://www.humanities-digital-library.org ISBN 978-1-912250-13-4 (2018 PDF edition) DOI 10.14296/518.9781912250134 Institute of Commonwealth Studies School of Advanced Study University of London Senate House Malet Street London WC1E 7HU Cover image: Activists at Pride in Entebbe, Uganda, August 2012. Photo © D. David Robinson 2013. Photo originally published in The Advocate (8 August 2012) with approval of Sexual Minorities Uganda (SMUG) and Freedom and Roam Uganda (FARUG). Approval renewed here from SMUG and FARUG, and PRIDE founder Kasha Jacqueline Nabagesera. Published with direct informed consent of the main pictured activist. Contents Abbreviations vii Contributors xi 1 Human rights, sexual orientation and gender identity in the Commonwealth: from history and law to developing activism and transnational dialogues 1 Corinne Lennox and Matthew Waites 2
    [Show full text]
  • Exploring Lesbian and Gay Musical Preferences and 'LGB Music' in Flanders
    Observatorio (OBS*) Journal, vol.9 - nº2 (2015), 207-223 1646-5954/ERC123483/2015 207 Into the Groove - Exploring lesbian and gay musical preferences and 'LGB music' in Flanders Alexander Dhoest*, Robbe Herreman**, Marion Wasserbauer*** * PhD, Associate professor, 'Media, Policy & Culture', University of Antwerp, Sint-Jacobsstraat 2, 2000 Antwerp ([email protected]) ** PhD student, 'Media, Policy & Culture', University of Antwerp, Sint-Jacobsstraat 2, 2000 Antwerp ([email protected]) *** PhD student, 'Media, Policy & Culture', University of Antwerp, Sint-Jacobsstraat 2, 2000 Antwerp ([email protected]) Abstract The importance of music and music tastes in lesbian and gay cultures is widely documented, but empirical research on individual lesbian and gay musical preferences is rare and even fully absent in Flanders (Belgium). To explore this field, we used an online quantitative survey (N= 761) followed up by 60 in-depth interviews, asking questions about musical preferences. Both the survey and the interviews disclose strongly gender-specific patterns of musical preference, the women preferring rock and alternative genres while the men tend to prefer pop and more commercial genres. While the sexual orientation of the musician is not very relevant to most participants, they do identify certain kinds of music that are strongly associated with lesbian and/or gay culture, often based on the play with codes of masculinity and femininity. Our findings confirm the popularity of certain types of music among Flemish lesbians and gay men, for whom it constitutes a shared source of identification, as it does across many Western countries. The qualitative data, in particular, allow us to better understand how such music plays a role in constituting and supporting lesbian and gay cultures and communities.
    [Show full text]
  • Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender Support Toolkit
    Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender Support Toolkit Social Care, Health and Wellbeing Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender Support Toolkit Issue Date: 31/05/2011 Review Date: 30/07/2015 Revised date: 1/09/2015 Amendments Introduced Care Act 2014 and duty made to to promote wellbeing version 1.1 Updated the history of LGBT rights Updated list of famous LGBT people examples Updated national and local statistics Version 2 Next review September 2015 date due: Owner: Policy and Standards Team Invicta House, 3rd Floor County Hall Maidstone ME15 1XX 1 Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender Support Toolkit 1. Foreword This document is a toolkit to help promote and embed good practice when working with lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender [LGB&T] people. It contains a number of case studies and good practice examples, as well as links to other resources that staff may find useful in working with LGB&T individuals. This document is intended to raise awareness of: issues specific to LGB&T individuals what this means for anyone working with or supporting LGB&T people how this may affect their carers and support networks how to address homophobia, biphobia and transphobia our legal responsibilities Anne Tidmarsh, Director Older People and Physical Disability and Chair of the Directorate Equalities Group: “The LGB&T Support Toolkit provides important information and guidance for staff in an area that they may not be familiar with. The toolkit helps to remind us to not make assumptions about who we are talking to and recognise the importance of sexual orientation in someone’s life.
    [Show full text]
  • Venustheatre
    VENUSTHEATRE Dear Member of the Press: Thank you so much for coverage of The Speed Twins by Maureen Chadwick. I wanted to cast two women who were over 60 to play Ollie and Queenie. And, I'm so glad I was able to do that. This year, it's been really important for me to embrace comedy as much as possible. I feel like we all probably need to laugh in this crazy political climate. Because I thought we were losing this space I thought that this show may be the last for me and for Venus. It turns out the new landlord has invited us to stay and so, the future for Venus is looking bright. There are stacks of plays waiting to be read and I look forward to spending the summer planning the rest of the year here at Venus. This play is a homage, in some ways, to The Killing of Sister George. I found that script in the mid-nineties when it was already over 30 years old and I remember exploring it and being transformed by the archetypes of female characters. To now be producing Maureen's play is quite an honor. She was there! She was at the Gateway. She is such an impressive writer and this whole experience has been very dierent for Venus, and incredibly rewarding. I hope you enjoy the show. All Best, Deborah Randall Venus Theatre *********************************************** ABOUT THE PLAYWRIGHT PERFORMANCES: receives about 200 play submissions and chooses four to produce in the calendar year ahead. Each VENUSTHEATRE Maureen Chadwick is the creator and writer of a wide range of award-winning, critically acclaimed and May 3 - 27, 2018 production gets 20 performances.
    [Show full text]
  • Enter Your Title Here in All Capital Letters
    EXPLORING THE COMPOSITION AND FORMATION OF LESBIAN SOCIAL TIES by LAURA S. LOGAN B.A., University of Nebraska at Kearney, 2006 A THESIS submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree MASTER OF ARTS Department of Sociology, Anthropology, and Social Work College of Arts and Sciences KANSAS STATE UNIVERSITY Manhattan, Kansas 2008 Approved by: Major Professor Dana M. Britton Copyright LAURA S. LOGAN 2008 Abstract The literature on friendship and social networks finds that individuals form social ties with people who are like them; this is termed “homophily.” Several researchers demonstrate that social networks and social ties are homophilous with regard to race and class, for example. However, few studies have explored the relationship of homophily to the social ties of lesbians, and fewer still have explicitly examined sexual orientation as a point of homophily. This study intends to help fill that gap by looking at homophily among lesbian social ties, as well as how urban and non-urban residency might shape homophily and lesbian social ties. I gathered data that would answer the following central research questions: Are lesbian social ties homophilous and if so around what common characteristics? What are lesbians’ experiences with community resources and how does this influence their social ties? How does population influence lesbian social ties? Data for this research come from 544 responses to an internet survey that asked lesbians about their social ties, their interests and activities and those of their friends, and the cities or towns in which they resided. Using the concepts of status and value homophily, I attempt to make visible some of the factors and forces that shape social ties for lesbians.
    [Show full text]
  • The Invisibility of Older Lesbians
    CORE Metadata, citation and similar papers at core.ac.uk Provided by University of Birmingham Research Archive, E-theses Repository „NOW YOU SEE ME‟ : THE INVISIBILITY OF OLDER LESBIANS by JANE ELIZABETH TRAIES A thesis submitted to The University of Birmingham For the degree of MASTER OF PHILOSOPHY Department of Languages, Cultures, Art History and Music College of Arts and Law The University of Birmingham September 2009 University of Birmingham Research Archive e-theses repository This unpublished thesis/dissertation is copyright of the author and/or third parties. The intellectual property rights of the author or third parties in respect of this work are as defined by The Copyright Designs and Patents Act 1988 or as modified by any successor legislation. Any use made of information contained in this thesis/dissertation must be in accordance with that legislation and must be properly acknowledged. Further distribution or reproduction in any format is prohibited without the permission of the copyright holder. ABSTRACT Monika Kehoe (1986) described older lesbians as „a triply invisible minority.‟ In this dissertation I seek to establish whether that description is still valid and, if so, why. I go on to ask, if older lesbians are culturally / discursively invisible, what are the circumstances which can enable them to be seen? and what could be gained from that visibility? By analysing a range of cultural texts I demonstrate that, although the visibility of women and of lesbians has steadily increased in recent years, older lesbians are still rarely represented in popular culture or the media. Academic research reflects this blindness: gerontology largely ignores non-heterosexual subjects, while lesbian and gay studies marginalise the old.
    [Show full text]
  • Faulty Towers
    FAULTY TOWERS Understanding the impact of overseas corruption on the London property market Transparency International (TI) is the world’s leading non- governmental anti-corruption organisation. With more than 100 chapters worldwide, TI has extensive global expertise and understanding of corruption. Transparency International UK (TI-UK) is the UK chapter of TI. We raise awareness about corruption; advocate legal and regulatory reform at national and international levels; design practical tools for institutions, individuals and companies wishing to combat corruption; and act as a leading centre of anti-corruption expertise in the UK. Acknowledgements: Acknowledgements: We would like to thank Trust for London, The Joffe Charitable Trust and members of our Transparency Leaders’ Network for their generous financial support that made the research possible. We are grateful for the support and guidance of our research advisory committee: Jeff Kaye (Chair); Richard Brooks; Alessandra Fontana; Luna Glucksberg; Sophie Gaston; Helen Williams. We would also like to thank Leasehold Law LLP for their support and advice during this research. Principal research: Ben Cowdock – Transparency International UK Editor: Steve Goodrich – Transparency International UK Design: Philip Jones – Transparency International UK © 2017 Transparency International UK. All rights reserved. Reproduction in whole or in parts is permitted, providing that full credit is given to Transparency International UK (TI-UK) and provided that any such reproduction, in whole or in parts,
    [Show full text]
  • Cultural Frames in the Gay Liberation Movement
    The Hilltop Review Volume 7 Issue 2 Spring Article 17 April 2015 From “Black is Beautiful” to “Gay Power”: Cultural Frames in the Gay Liberation Movement Eric Denby Western Michigan University Follow this and additional works at: https://scholarworks.wmich.edu/hilltopreview Part of the Cultural History Commons, Social History Commons, and the United States History Commons Recommended Citation Denby, Eric (2015) "From “Black is Beautiful” to “Gay Power”: Cultural Frames in the Gay Liberation Movement," The Hilltop Review: Vol. 7 : Iss. 2 , Article 17. Available at: https://scholarworks.wmich.edu/hilltopreview/vol7/iss2/17 This Article is brought to you for free and open access by the Graduate College at ScholarWorks at WMU. It has been accepted for inclusion in The Hilltop Review by an authorized editor of ScholarWorks at WMU. For more information, please contact wmu- [email protected]. 132 From “Black is Beautiful” to “Gay Power”: Cultural Frames in the Gay Liberation Movement Runner-Up, 2014 Graduate Humanities Conference By Eric Denby Department of History [email protected] The 1960s and 1970s were a decade of turbulence, militancy, and unrest in America. The post-World War II boom in consumerism and consumption made way for a new post- materialist societal ethos, one that looked past the American dream of home ownership and material wealth. Many citizens were now concerned with social and economic equality, justice for all people of the world, and a restructuring of the capitalist system itself. According to Max Elbaum, the
    [Show full text]
  • Guide to the One Archives Cataloging Project: Founders and Pioneers
    GUIDE TO THE ONE ARCHIVES CATALOGING PROJECT: FOUNDERS AND PIONEERS FUNDED BY THE NATIONAL ENDOWMENT FOR THE HUMANITIES ONE NATIONAL GAY & LESBIAN ARCHIVES AT THE UNIVERSITY OF SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA GUIDE TO THE ONE ARCHIVES CATALOGING PROJECT: FOUNDERS AND PIONEERS Funded by the National Endowment for the Humanities Grant #PW-50526-10 2010-2012 Project Guide by Greg Williams ONE NATIONAL GAY & LESBIAN ARCHIVES AT THE UNIVERSITY OF SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA LOS ANGELES, 2012 Copyright © July 2012 ONE National Gay & Lesbian Archives Director’s Note In October 1952, a small group began meeting to discuss the possible publication and distribution of a magazine by and for the “homophile” community. The group met in secret, and the members knew each other by pseudonyms or first names only. An unidentified lawyer was consulted by the members to provide legal advice on creating such a publication. By January 1953, they created ONE Magazine with the tagline “a homosexual viewpoint.” It was the first national LGBTQ magazine to openly discuss sexual and gender diversity, and it was a flashpoint for all those LGBTQ individuals who didn’t have a community to call their own. ONE has survived a number of major changes in the 60 years since those first meetings. It was a publisher, a social service organization, and a research and educational institute; it was the target of major thefts, FBI investigations, and U.S. Postal Service confiscations; it was on the losing side of a real estate battle and on the winning side of a Supreme Court case; and on a number of occasions, it was on the verge of shuttering… only to begin anew.
    [Show full text]
  • OUT of TIME and out of PLACE Habitus Dislocation and the Importance of Affinity Groups for Older Lesbians and Bisexual Women
    OUT OF TIME AND OUT OF PLACE Habitus dislocation and the importance of affinity groups for older lesbians and bisexual women JILL WILKENS ORCID IDENTIFIER:0000-0002-2261-6696 THESIS SUBMITTED FOR THE DEGREE OF DOCTOR OF PHILOSOPHY LONDON SOUTH BANK UNIVERSITY September 2016 1 I hereby declare that this thesis has not been and will not be submitted in whole or in part to another university for the award of any other degree. Signature: Jill Wilkens 2 Acknowledgements Without the thirty-five participants and the gate-keepers who gave me access to them, this research would not exist. Skeggs (1997) observes that the affectivity of research is diminished through the ‘academic analytical filtering process’ (p.15) but I hope some trace of my participants’ resilience and good humour remains. Their warm hospitality and patience in answering my questions made the interviews a joy. Nothing could make transcription a pleasure, but their attention to detail when reviewing their transcripts, made the process feel worthwhile. Most importantly, the courage and joie de vivre with which they have lived their lives and told their stories are an inspiration to generations of women, including my own, for which I am truly grateful. As someone born in the 1960s, I am mindful of my privilege and protection. The experiences of self-concealment, discrimination, family estrangement and harassment bear little resemblance to my own and those of my contemporaries, although I do not suggest that they have been eradicated. Back and Puwar (2012) urge us to ‘take time, think carefully and slowly’ (p.13), a luxurious imperative not easily followed given the pace and pressure of current academic funding regimes.
    [Show full text]
  • Happy Bollock Goblin!
    Lady Ga-goyle kicks off the Halloween celebrations with a surprise visit to G-A-Y happy bollock goblin! QX_973_Cover.indd 2 29/10/2013 20:09 Killer Once upon a time there was an evil queen, but you know all about her – and have probably seen her in Soho – so this Halloween we’re going to go one better and look at queens that kill. Gays may be one of the most peace- queens loving minorities in the world, but, just like the straights, our community has had its fair share of twisted minds – and these guys take it much further than a poisoned apple! BY DARREN PALFREY Murderer of Gianni Versace -Andrew Cunanan The Milwaukee Cunanan shot and killed four men across Cannibal The Kansas Butcher America, with no known motive. And we – Jeffrey Dahmer – Bob Berdella could have forgiven a little bit of serial killing, but Cunanan’s Dharma started early, Now this was a twisted next move was the committing his first bitch - Berdella sexually murder of Gianni murder at 18 years abused, raped, tortured Versace. Crimes old, but graciously spared the world from and killed at least six gay against fashion are anymore of his bloodshed for nine years. men in the late 1980s. He unforgivable – But then… this sista went on the rampage. drugged his victims before end of! (Beneath He’d lure men to his house and drug them turning them into unwilling sex slaves; he the botox, before killing them by strangulation. Often tied them up, beat them, gave them electric Donatella he would sexually molest the corpse shocks and put burning chemicals in their was deeply and then eat it – wonder if they’ve got eyes.
    [Show full text]
  • Faulty Towers
    FAULTY TOWERS Understanding the impact of overseas corruption on the London property market Transparency International (TI) is the world’s leading non- governmental anti-corruption organisation. With more than 100 chapters worldwide, TI has extensive global expertise and understanding of corruption. Transparency International UK (TI-UK) is the UK chapter of TI. We raise awareness about corruption; advocate legal and regulatory reform at national and international levels; design practical tools for institutions, individuals and companies wishing to combat corruption; and act as a leading centre of anti-corruption expertise in the UK. Acknowledgements: Acknowledgements: We would like to thank Trust for London, The Joffe Charitable Trust and members of our Transparency Leaders’ Network for their generous financial support that made the research possible. We are grateful for the support and guidance of our research advisory committee: Jeff Kaye (Chair); Richard Brooks; Alessandra Fontana; Luna Glucksberg; Sophie Gaston; Helen Williams. We would also like to thank Leasehold Law LLP for their support and advice during this research. Principal research: Ben Cowdock – Transparency International UK Editor: Steve Goodrich – Transparency International UK Design: Philip Jones – Transparency International UK © 2017 Transparency International UK. All rights reserved. Reproduction in whole or in parts is permitted, providing that full credit is given to Transparency International UK (TI-UK) and provided that any such reproduction, in whole or in parts,
    [Show full text]