Gately's partner lodges 'Mail' article complaint

The late pop singer Stephen Gately's partner, Andrew Cowles, has formally lodged a complaint with the press standards watchdog about a column in the Daily Mail by Jan Moir.

The Press Complaints Commission has already received about 25,000 complaints, its largest figure yet, from the public. Moir's article said the Boyzone singer's death struck a blow to the "happy-ever-after myth of civil partnerships".

Mr Cowles's complaints relate to accuracy, intrusion into grief or shock, and discrimination. The commission said it would investigate the complaint with the newspaper, and publish the outcome in due course. The watchdog has delayed its findings on the complaints from members of the public following the move by Mr Cowles. The article appeared the day before the funeral of the singer, who died on the Spanish island of Majorca.

In the column, published in October, Moir wrote: "Healthy and fit 33-year-old men do not just climb into their pyjamas and go to sleep on the sofa, never to wake up again. Whatever the cause of death is, it is not, by any yardstick, a natural one." A post-mortem examination found Gately died of natural causes. Moir has defended herself, claiming suggestions of homophobia were "mischievous".