Stuart Walker Murder: No News

"One thing that is quickly obvious about Cumnock is its tolerance...
"According a range of gay people living in Cumnock, there is no sense of a dark, homophobic underbelly in the once prosperous mining town.
"Although reluctant to be named, not one gay person interviewed for this piece could remember having been bullied or targeted because of their sexuality..."

After the murder, anger of the town where gay barman died
Amelia Hill reports from Cumnock for The Guardian (Emphasis added), a story they trailed on the front page.
Most papers' websites today splashed the news; 'Gay barman Stuart Walker was quizzed over child sex crime claim' (Daily Mirror).
A story The Scottish Sun claims was their exclusive; "FIREBALL murder victim Stuart Walker was quizzed by cops over alleged indecency involving a 12-year-old boy after being accused by the lad's family."
Though the Scottish Sun added this qualifier from the police; "There is nothing to suggest at this time that the murder was connected to these allegations."
One wonders what they do know.
And how the press came to know this.
Well, after Hackgate we can have a pretty good guess who tipped the press off.
A report was filed, but police say the case had been recently closed.
There has been no new information about Stuart Walker or his murder in the London-based press - perhaps they've been too busy correcting their original version of events?
But the tabloids abhor this kind of news vacuum - what will they come up with over the weekend?
Scotland's Daily Record has been looking at this story from every possible angle.
According to the Record police have questioned one man about Stuart Walker's murder and taken a DNA sample from him.
They even published a photo of the man.
Insinuation after insinuation after speculation...
In the same paper; Friends tell how murdered barman Stuart Walker had 'time of his life' at party just hours before he was killed
At the time of writing Stuart's killer or killers are still unknown - to us.

Update Friday 6.30pm: Police have now arrested the 18 year-old man they were questioning about Stuart Walker's murder.
The Scottish Sun alleged earlier today; 'DETECTIVES were last night investigating if the savage killer of gay barman Stuart Walker was a secret lover gripped by a fit of rage' - Anonymous "source".
But please remember how much that has been written about this terrible case has turned out to be untrue or mere speculation...

George Michael: And I'm Not Sorry

Sir George Michael of Hampstead Heath has taken to the Twittersphere to comment on media coverage of his recent apparent Mea Culpa press conference - in what someone somewhere has almost certainly dubbed "a bizarre outburst".

Hey everyone....something important to say......
WHAT THE FUCK!!!!!!!
This is why I love twitter! MEDIA PAY ATTENTION!
I HAVE NEVER AND WILL NEVER APOLOGISE FOR MY SEX LIFE ! GAY SEX IS NATURAL, GAY SEX IS GOOD! NOT EVERYBODY DOES IT, BUT.....HA HA!
I apologised for my driving accidents and the homophobic language that they induced in a HOMOPHOBIC PRESS!
The GUARDIAN of all newspapers should know better. AMELIA HILL. Shouldn't you be working at The Daily Mail?
You see people, if you want the facts without distortion, COME TO TWITTER!!!!
(...)but my point is that the others I care about are the invisible and lonely children...
who are subjected to the LEGAL use of words like 'PERVERT' when they read about gay people in their parents newspapers..its shocking and sad
Please don't get me wrong my lovelies, homophobic verbal abuse has absolutely zero affect on me these days, but ....
I can still remember how it felt to be a teenager. I may have been a bit more confused than your average gay kid but still.....
Good night everyone its really late here....I know I have made my point to the press because whenever they are online ....
the bitchy mentions go thru the roof!! Ha ha, got em just where i want them, I LOVE TWITTER! Love to all, night ! xxx

Mr Michael was back on Twitter an hour ago;

Hey everyone, how u doing?
Have to make an apology today (Makes a change, don't u think!!)
To The Guardian...although Amelia Hill misquoted me, when I looked at footage of the conference I realised...
How journos could have thought I was apologising for sex, not just driving!!!
Remember folks, never apologis for sex...unless you are bad at it!!!!!
But at the same time, those kinder journos who think it's only my sex life that brings about the tabloid homophobia I referred to...
Forget that the Murdoch rags referred to me as 'poof' and 'pervert' several times in response to my campaign against the bombing of Iraq....
And the Daily Mirror's take on my time behind bars opened with 'soap dropper George', which did make me laugh at the time, but still....
So maybe people who thought I was overstating the case should rethink it a little. I thank them anyway :)

I have the feeling she's still Twittering away...

• Today's Observer has run two (2) pieces on George Michael's (non) apology.
Here's Kitty Empire on auto-pilot; 'Tone and pitch – why George Michael's the man to rewrite the rules on gay music'
Snore!
And here's Barbara Ellen 'George Michael crashing into Snappy Snaps doesn't encourage homophobia'
Miss Babs is usually very good on The Gays, but this is rather silly.
"It's not as if we ever think of straight children – they are just children" - A stupid cliche one would expect to read in the Daily Mail.
I presume George hasn't seen these - yet.