The decision by the UK's Minister for Children to unequivocally criticise broadcasters' acceptance of homophobic language has delighted gay activists. In a speech to an education conference yesterday, minister Kevin Brennan, a former teacher, said that homophobic bullying and the use of words like 'gay' and 'poof' by Radio DJs and TV presenters are linked. "Just as it took several years for racial equality laws to feed into real culture change where racist language became unacceptable – so now we need to achieve the same with homophobic language," he said. "Just one example is the casual use of homophobic language by mainstream radio DJs. This is too often seen as harmless banter instead of the offensive insult that it really represents. "To ignore this problem is to collude in it. The blind eye to casual name-calling, looking the other way because it is the easy option, is simply intolerable." Ben Summerskill, chief executive of Stonewall, told PinkNews.co.uk: "It's a landmark moment and it speaks volumes that its a minister who has been a teacher that knows the damage this can do. "We hope the BBC will start to listen to people about the damage this sort of language can do to children." The minister's strong statement directly contradicts the attitude of the BBC, who last year defended Radio 1 DJ Chris Moyles for using the word 'gay' on his show to describe a mobile phone ringtone. The corporation referred to the fact that some young people use homophobic language as an excuse for Moyles doing so. A study by Stonewall last year found that gays and lesbians are rarely featured positively by the BBC. New guidance for schools on combating all bullying, including gay abuse, will be published in September. Ref: Pinknews.co.uk (m)