Barry: Column that shames us all

Oct 21 2009 by Barry Gibson

Indeed, Mr Gately is not even the first famous person to die in such a way. Two years ago Motherwell footballer Phil O’Donnell, 35, collapsed and died of an undiagnosed heart condition during a match.

But this seems to matter nothing to Ms Moir who is convinced that something more sinister is at work.

Writing last Friday she said Mr Gately’s death was being “spun” into “nothing more than an unfortunate mishap on a holiday weekend, like a broken teacup in the rented cottage”.

A full 90 years ahead of the close of nominations I confidently predict that Ms Moir has sewn up the Most Tasteless Simile of the Century award for her comparison of a man’s sudden death to a bit of smashed crockery.

From the sick to the outright bizarre she goes on to say that the married singer’s death “strikes another blow to the happy-ever-after myth of civil partnerships”. Yes, because it’s completely unheard of for a married straight person to die suddenly.

Gay couples, please don’t get hitched – one of you might die some day.

It was a sickening and despicable column which trampled on human decency, showing absolutely no regard for Mr Gately’s grieving family or, indeed, the truth.

The sneering undertone of homophobia is, unfortunately all too common of the Daily Mail. But, what’s also typical of the paper is that Moir poses as some kind of medical expert, dismissing the findings of a Spanish coroner in favour of her own prejudice.

It was, after all, the Daily Mail which kept the unfounded “MMR causes autism” pot boiling over for years. The result of this unfounded scare-mongering? Fewer children having the MMR jab and, as inevitably as night follows day, more children contracting measles.

I’ve just checked on Facebook and the “Jan Moir should get the sack” group is closing in on 5,000 members.

But her bosses have got to ask themselves – is what she said really so out of keeping with the ethos of the Daily Mail?