Burnham pledges to end rough sleeping in first speech as prime minister
By Riley Hart
Andy Burnham has made ending rough sleeping in the country his first policy pledge as the new prime minister.
Making his first speech in Downing Street, Burnham said he wanted the government to be "investing in people's success rather than paying for failure". Burnham, in a statement after his first speech outside 10 Downing Street, said: "On my first day as prime minister, I'm announcing this government's commitment to finally end long-term rough sleeping across the UK at the earliest opportunity.
Burnham visited homelessness charity The Passage in Victoria, London, hours before he made his first speech in Downing Street.
Crisis chief executive Matt Downie said it was "absolutely fantastic" to see Burnham's pledge, adding it signalled a shift away from "simply managing homelessness, which costs billions to the public purse".
Crowds gather as Leeds Pride marks 20th anniversary
By Riley Hart
Thousands of people came together at the weekend to celebrate 20 years of Leeds Pride.
RuPaul's Drag Race UK and Strictly star La Voix and garage act Sweet Female Attitude were among the headliners at the two-day festival, which celebrates LGBTQ+ life. Saturday saw attendees join the Freedom Party on Briggate in the city centre, with festivities continuing into Sunday with a sun-soaked parade.
A spokesperson said the milestone event would bring the city to life with its "biggest and boldest Pride to date". Attendees praised the event for its "great sense of community spirit". Other revellers enjoying the acts on the main stage mentioned the weather was much improved after last year's downpour.
Celebrating 20 years of Leeds Pride was "a huge moment for the city and the community", organisers said. "What we have in Leeds is genuinely rare, and that's a Pride celebration that takes place right in the heart of the city," the spokesperson added. "We're proud to keep Leeds Pride woven into the fabric of the city. It creates an incredible atmosphere and means the celebration is shared across Leeds."
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Thousands pack the streets of Brighton for Trans Pride march
By Riley Hart
Thousands of people have packed the streets of Brighton for Trans Pride 2026.
The event, now in its thirteenth year, is the largest of its kind outside of America, and attracts more than 10,000 attendees every year. The day began with a series of speeches before a march which set off from Valley Gardens and continued along North Street and onto the seafront, before returning via Old Steine and Grand Parade.
Crowds filled the streets, many banging drums, chanting, and waving flags in support of the LGBTQ+ community. Brighton Trans Pride marks the start of the city's Pride season, which will continue into August with Brighton Pride, the UK's largest Pride festival, held this year on August 1 and 2.
The event is community-led and run entirely by volunteers, and aims to inspire all trans, intersex, gender variant and queer people through celebrating gender diversity. This year's event features a new and improved venue for the Band Stage, which has been moved to Victoria Gardens to increase capacity
Trump administration scraps Joe Biden’s LGBTQ+ foster youth protections
By Riley Hart
Donald Trump’s administration has officially ended Joe Biden’s LGBTQ+ foster youth protections, removing safeguards and increasing risks for LGBTQ+ youth in group homes.
The rules, introduced in April 2024, initially sought to identify foster placements able to support LGBTQ+ young people, provide training for agencies and carers, and ensure LGBTQ+ children had access to appropriate services. Though they never fully took effect after a federal judge under Trump’s leadership blocked the policy, it has now been officially barred by the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS).
In response, US representatives Angie Craig, Danny K. Davis, Gwen Moore, Lateefah Simon and Judy Chu have delivered a letter signed by 23 House Democrats opposing the HHS’s decision. Democrats are calling for an appropriate alternative, drawing on statistics that show LGBTQ+ youth are overrepresented in foster care and face greater risks of harm.
Mexico’s first publicly gay mayor Benjamín Medrano Quezada shot dead aged 59
By Riley Hart
Benjamín Medrano Quezada, the first publicly gay politician elected mayor in Mexico, has been shot dead in the city of Guadalajara at the age of 59.
The former mayor of Fresnillo, in the northern state of Zacatecas, was killed last Tuesday (7 July) after leaving an ice cream shop in Guadalajara’s Santa Elena de la Cruz neighbourhood, according to Mexican authorities.
Local media reported that he was shot several times in the face before the attacker fled the scene on a motorcycle. Investigators have not announced a motive and no arrests have been confirmed.
Medrano made history in 2013 when he became the first publicly gay elected mayor in Mexico, winning office in Fresnillo as the candidate for the Institutional Revolutionary Party (PRI). He held this role until 2015 before serving a three-year term in Mexico’s Chamber of Deputies, representing Zacatecas’s first federal district.
CIRCA Soho to close after 15 years as venue reaches end of lease
By Riley Hart
CIRCA Soho has announced it will close after 15 years, with the LGBTQ+ venue confirming the decision in a statement shared to Instagram.
The LGBTQ+ bar, which opened in June 2011 in London’s Frith Street, Soho, said it has decided to close as it approaches the end of its current lease. The venue did not announce a final trading date.
Since opening, CIRCA has established itself as one of London’s best-known queer venues, operating as a cocktail bar during the day before hosting DJs, drag performers and themed events into the early hours. In 2018, the brand expanded beyond Soho with the launch of Circa Embankment, a larger venue near Charing Cross.
The announcement prompted a response from Jeremy Joseph, owner of Heaven and G-A-Y, who said the closure reflected wider challenges facing independent LGBTQ+ venues. “With the announcement of another independent Soho LGBTQ+ venue closing,” he wrote. “We might be in competition, but the more venues, the more variety & the more safe spaces the better the scene is.”
Brothers found guilty of murdering civil servant in 1984 homophobic attack
By Riley Hart
Two brothers have been convicted of murdering a man in a homophobic attack more than four decades after he was killed.
Michael Stewart, 57, and Anthony Stewart, 60, were found guilty at the Old Bailey of murdering Anthony Littler, a 45-year-old civil servant who was attacked while walking home in East Finchley in the early hours of 1 May 1984. They were 15 and 18 at the time. Littler had arrived at East Finchley Underground station shortly after midnight before making his way through a narrow alley known as The Causeway. Prosecutors said he was ambushed moments later and struck twice on the head with a blunt weapon. He suffered two skull fractures, including one that caused a catastrophic brain injury.
Following the verdicts, senior crown prosecutor Samantha Yelland said: “I’m so pleased that we’ve managed to get justice all these years later for Anthony Littler.
Sexually transmitted Shigella is becoming harder to treat, researchers warn
By Riley Hart
Sexually transmitted Shigella is becoming more resistant to antibiotics, prompting fresh warnings for gay and bisexual men. New research from the University of Cambridge suggests infections passed on through sex are increasing more quickly than other forms of the bacterial illness, while also becoming harder to treat with commonly used antibiotics.
Shigella is a bacterial infection that can cause diarrhoea, stomach cramps, fever and vomiting. In some cases, it can lead to bloody diarrhoea and require hospital treatment. Although it has traditionally been associated with contaminated food, poor sanitation and overseas travel, researchers say sexual transmission is now an established route of infection in some communities of gay, bisexual and other men who have sex with men (GBMSM). Between 2015 and 2020, sexually transmitted Shigella increased 15 per cent faster each year than strains linked to other routes of infection, including travel and contaminated food.
Amber heat health alerts in effect as UK set for one of longest-lasting heatwaves since 1976
By Riley Hart
Amber and yellow heat health alerts are in place across England as the UK braces for one of the longest-lasting heatwaves since 1976. Temperatures could rise as high as 36C (97F) for parts of southern England this week. However, readings will range widely across the country, from the mid-20s Celsius in the north to those mid-30s further south.
The Midlands, eastern and southern England are under amber heat-health alerts by the UK Health Security Agency until 21:00 BST on 12 July. Meanwhile, yellow heat health alerts are in force across northern England for the same period. Unlike the late June heatwave, humidity levels have been lower making the heat feel less oppressive. But these are now picking up again. However, this heatwave could be one of the longest lasting since the infamous heatwave of 1976. During it, England in particular saw multiple locations record 13 to 16 consecutive days above 30C.
New heatwave likely to peak at 34C with week-long health alert issued
By Riley Hart
A new heatwave is starting to build across parts of the UK from this weekend, with forecasters warning that temperatures could reach 33C or 34C. For some areas this will mark the third heatwave of the year.
It comes as week-long yellow heat health alerts have been issued by the UK Health Security Agency from the Midlands and East Anglia down across both the south-east and south-west of England. The highest temperatures are expected in southern England and while maybe not as intense as the record-breaking heatwave in June, it may last a lot longer.
Currently many forecasting models show that the hot spell could persist into the middle of July. We are unlikely to exceed the record breaking temperatures recorded in June, although there is some uncertainty. Some areas are likely to meet official heatwave criteria.
Supporting Pride London 'more important than ever'
By Riley Hart
Attendees at Pride in London have told the BBC that supporting the event is "more important than ever", with thousands turning out for the annual parade.
The festival is the UK's largest Pride and one of the capital's biggest public events and this year the organisation running the event said it was expecting crowds of more than one million people. This year's festivities come after a difficult year for the organisation which became involved in a long-running legal dispute with its former chief executive.
Pride in London said it was "overwhelmed by the support, love and commitment our community, partners, volunteers and wider stakeholders have given Pride in London this year".
Final attendance figures have not been released but organisers said ahead of the event that more than a million people were expected to head into London for the celebrations.
Leeds Hunters make bid to host LGBTQ+ Rugby World Cup
By Riley Hart
Leeds Hunters, the northern LGBTQ+ inclusive rugby club, have made their bid to host the Bingham Cup and the Amanda Mark Cup in 2028.
The Bingham Cup is the world’s largest amateur rugby tournament for LGBTQ+ and inclusive rugby teams from across the globe, held every two years. Expected to attract up to 4,000 players, Hunters player Nathan Martin described it to BBC News as a “rugby tournament like no other”. “It’s about feeling connected, it’s about being with other people that may be like you, may be different, but you’re welcome.”
The first Bingham Cup was held in San Francisco in 2002, in memory of Mark Bingham, a gay American rugby player who died in 9/11. The LGBTQ+ rugby tournament has continued to honour Bingham’s legacy, expanding to a biennial event in 2004, and later introducing the Amanda Mark Cup for women’s teams under International Gay Rugby. The first full Amanda Mark Cup was held in 2022 in Ottawa, Canada, taking place alongside the Bingham Cup, followed by Rome in 2024.
Attitude Magazine Foundation announces Oliver Pike as new CEO
By Riley Hart
Attitude has announce the appointment of Oliver (Olly) Pike as the new CEO of the Attitude Magazine Foundation, effective 1 October 2026. The registered charity, founded in summer 2018, has raised and distributed more than £600,000 for LGBTQ+ causes through corporate support, Attitude’s award-winning live events and individual donations from readers and supporters via Just Giving.
“This new appointment of a former Pride Award winner”, says Attitude managing director and Foundation chairman Darren Styles OBE, “represents a new phase of operations intended to give this incredible brand and its charitable enterprise the drive, dynamism and personality that it deserves. Olly will start to implement new initiatives on a transitional, part-time basis in the coming weeks, but join us full-time come the autumn.
“Olly is a popular, active and visible member of London’s LGBTQ+ community and brings with him a network of valuable connections and donors, plus a unique understanding of both charity administration and life in the front line of advocacy.”