the Portillo/Lilley "liaison"...
Posted: Mon May 20, 2013 1:01 pm
This from an article in 'The Independent' newspaper, 12 September 1999:
"Portillo had decided some months earlier that he should "come clean" about his gay past before returning to public life. As he walked on a pilgrimage across Spain, he came to the conclusion that the best way to end once and for all rumours that he had had an affair with his cabinet colleague Peter Lilley was to reveal the true extent of his homosexual experiences. When he returned to London, he discussed the implications of going public with his wife and his loyal adviser Alison Broom over white wine and anchovies in the Portillos' local tapas bar, Goya. The two women told him they thought the public was now so accepting of homosexuality that it would not damage his political career."
Full article here:
The story certainly became very widespread, I'm not sure if it really was a joke started by Jerry Hayes or whether it is true.
"Portillo had decided some months earlier that he should "come clean" about his gay past before returning to public life. As he walked on a pilgrimage across Spain, he came to the conclusion that the best way to end once and for all rumours that he had had an affair with his cabinet colleague Peter Lilley was to reveal the true extent of his homosexual experiences. When he returned to London, he discussed the implications of going public with his wife and his loyal adviser Alison Broom over white wine and anchovies in the Portillos' local tapas bar, Goya. The two women told him they thought the public was now so accepting of homosexuality that it would not damage his political career."
Full article here:
The story certainly became very widespread, I'm not sure if it really was a joke started by Jerry Hayes or whether it is true.
![[IMG]http://img218.imagevenue.com/loc1121/th_79083_Hayes157_122_1121lo.jpg[/IMG]](http://img218.imagevenue.com/img.php?image=79083_Hayes157_122_1121lo.jpg){kind=link}