Darren Hayes accept police caution

There's been some sort of resolution of that odd incident where Darren Hayes was accused of racially abusing a restaurant worker; Hayes has accepted a police caution under section five of the Public Order Act, which deals with disorderly behaviour, but still denies there was anything racist about it.

Why, he says, how can I be racist, when I'm gay?

"I could never think, let alone utter a racist remark," he said.

"As a gay man, I find the notion of discriminating against a human being because of race, gender or sexuality to be abhorrent. It goes against everything I have stood for."

Apart from being absolutely absurd - being gay doesn't suddenly prove you're not racist, any more than being black stops you being homophobic - we love Hayes' suggestion that he's well-known for his crusading zeal for equality. Hayes remained in the closet until 2006, happily letting everyone else do the work for to push for gay rights during 80s, 90s and first half of this decade. Now, of course, coming out or not is a personal choice, but if you do choose to keep your head down when others are fighting on your behalf, it might harm your chances of trying to suggest that you're some sort of well-known civil rights hero later on.

The Metropolitan Police are refusing to either confirm or deny that there was a racist element to the disorderly behaviour.