articles published by the Pink Paper. The Pink Paper is expected to publish a letter clarifying the situation.

Writing to James Davenport, the Activism and Campaigns Officer said:

'The information I based my original comments on were from an article now revealed to be inaccurate. Therefore, although I believe my remarks would have been accurate given the original context, that context has been revealed to be false and therefore my remarks also lose their accuracy. I therefore apologise for any way I may have implied that the Conservatives and Gay Conservatives do not support civil partnerships - my original intent was to show anger at their seeming dismisal of the issue at their debate at conference.

'The comments this conclusion came from were a misrepresention of James Davenport and the Gay Conservatives. Indeed, I have been assured that Civil Partnerships were discussed at the Gay Conservatives fringe event, which is a reversal of the original presentation/interpretation of the article.'

James Davenport today welcomed the retraction and apology issued by the Queer Youth Alliance's Campaigns Officer. Speaking to gayconservatives.com, he said, 'I am glad that Alex Lambert has made clear that the Conservatives are in favour of civil partnerships, and that our approach to HIV in the gay community is supportive and not homophobic. I am happy to say that we have received assurances that his comments, now withdrawn, were in a personal capacity and never reflected the official position of the Queer Youth Alliance. I look forward to the Pink Paper making clear that their articles were completely inaccurate.

'Now we can all get on with what we are supposed to be doing - making life better for the gay community.'