Boyzone honoured by gay rights group

Gay rights group Stonewall has honoured Boyzone at its annual awards ceremony.

The band won the 'Entertainers Of The Year' prize at the event on Thursday in honour of their support of gay bandmate Stephen Gately, WENN reports.

The ceremony also included a tribute to Gately, who died last month.

His widower Andrew Cowles praised Stonewall when he accepted Boyzone's award.

"A few years ago Boyzone made pop history by featuring a gay kiss in one of their videos ('Better')," he said. "That was not a marketing stunt, it was simply a mark of respect for Stephen and his sexuality."

Cowles further criticised Daily Mail journalist Jan Moir, who won the ceremony's 'Bigot Of The Year' award after her controversial article about Gately's death.

"I would like to take this opportunity to say how insensitive some of the press have been in their reporting of Stephen's death," Cowles added. "In particular I would like to thank everybody who contacted the Press Complaints Commission about the Jan Moir Daily Mail article."

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