I have been surprised to read about Old Compton Street, where it happened, being described as a glamorous and vibrant environment alive with colour and excitement. Before readers of The Observer in far away places rush to visit this place in the hope of discovering some kind of London equivalent of the Champs Elys es or Barcelona's Ramblas, I must take steps to disillusion them. Old Compton Street, which I have known for many years, has always been a pretty downmarket and depressing place. Another bit of misleading journalism is the use, now common to all the media, of this expression the 'gay community' - equating old Compton Street with Chinatown or Brixton. But there is no such thing as a community here, if by that we mean a group of people all living together, sharing certain traditions and religious beliefs or taking part in communal activities peculiar to their own group.
Community spirit is the last thing they want.
Gays may like the pseudo-respectability that the word 'community' conveys but there is always a danger in misrepresentation of this kind. Thus a deranged man, which the Old Compton Street bomber clearly is, might be led to conclude that some kind of well-organised threat exists when in fact there is nothing of the kind. It is surprising how many people have waxed indignant about the death of Serbian civilians caused by Nato bombing raids. The idea that you can drop large numbers of bombs night after night without anyone getting killed seems to be widespread - even in some quite sophisticated circles. Mrs Mary Robinson, the former President of Ireland and now the UN's Commissioner For Human Rights, has gone further by issuing a warning to Nato that they will have to do more to stop civilians being killed.