Prime minister David Cameron has added his voice to a campaign to support bullied gay, lesbian, bisexual and trans youngsters.
Mr Cameron recorded a video message for gay charity Stonewall in which he urged bullied teens to talk to someone about their problems.
In the message, which went online just after the Conservative Party suspended a councillor accused of homophobia, Mr Cameron said: “You don’t have to struggle on dealing with this on your own. Whether it’s your mum or your dad, or teachers, family friends or people who care about you and want to help you. Speak to them and you’ll feel so much better.
He added: “Britain is a diverse, open, tolerant place. This is not the sort of country where we label people for being different.”
Mr Cameron listed some of the progress made for gay equality and added: “Now, of course, there’s more to be done, which is why this government is working hard to drive homophobic bullying out of our schools.
“But overall, Britain is a place where you can be who you want to be and we should celebrate that.
“Talk to someone – if you do, things really will get better today.”
Today, the Conservative Party suspended a Bristol councillor who said he was “disturbed” that gay actor Sir Ian McKellen was visiting local schools to talk about homophobic bullying.
Chris Windows said he was not homophobic and that such issues should remain in the bedroom.
See below for Mr Cameron’s video message.