Ex-Thatcher minister: F1 boss Bernie Ecclestone is a ‘sad man’ for backing Putin’s stance on gay rights
Lord Deben, who served as Conservative Party chairman and Agriculture minister under Margaret Thatcher, says F1 boss Bernie Ecclestone is a “sad man” for supporting Vladimir Putin’s stance on gay rights.
On Thursday, Lord Deben, better known as John Gummer before his 2010 peerage, tweeted PinkNews to say: “What a sad man, not to understand the climate of fear that Putin has created nor to condemn the attacks on gay men.”
@benjamincohen @pinknews What a sad man, not to understand the climate of fear that Putin has created nor to condemn the attacks on gay men
— John Deben (@lorddeben) February 20, 2014
The 83-year-old head of Formula 1 said: “He [Putin] hasn’t said he doesn’t agree [with homosexuality] just that he doesn’t want these things publicised to an audience under the age of 18. I completely agree with those sentiments and if you took a world census you’d find 90% of the world agree with it as well.”
Ecclestone went on to say: “I’ve great admiration for him and his courage to say what he says…[It] may upset a few people but that’s how the world is. It’s how he sees [the world] and I think he’s completely right.”
