The shocking 'not guilty' verdict in the case of Michael Causer prompted a protest outside Liverpool Crown Court on Sunday. A large crowd of people expressed their shock and outrage. Whilst the local press had given some coverage to the crime and trial, there was very little interest elsewhere.

The Independent reports Stonewall's Ben Summerskill as saying "It is testament to the lack of seriousness with which these kinds of incidents are treated. They are simply not regarded as newsworthy. The BBC has reported every single murder of an adolescent in the past 18 months in this country as a national news story, but not this one."

Ben Summerskill could be right up to a point. There is a pervasive atmosphere of homophobia in society, exemplified by this detestable verdict as well as the national media's reluctance to report the injustice.