The former Australian prime minister, Mr Paul Keating and his wife Annita, yesterday announced the end of their 23-year marriage, but said their decision should not lend credibility to "malicious" rumours.
The couple, who married in 1975 and had four children, announced their separation in a joint statement. "We have decided amicably to separate after 23 years of deeply fulfilling and for the most part happy marriage," they said. "This has been a difficult and painful time for both of us, and for our children, and if only for their sakes we hope people will respect our privacy." They referred to "the often malicious rumours that have been circulating for the past two or three years". "It would be futile to attempt to publicly explain the reasons for this decision, and we are sure no reasonable person would feel that we are obliged to try."
Unfounded rumours about Mr Keating surfaced publicly when former governor-general, Mr Bill Hayden, aired them in a defamation case in Canberra unrelated to the Keatings. Mr Hayden, like Mr Keating a former federal Labour leader, told a court about baseless stories that Mr Keating had an extramarital affair with a prominent woman, and that he had a predilection for young men. Mr Hayden said he was simply attempting to show the damage that sex smears could do to politicians' reputations.
A BBC newsreader tried to stop actor Nigel Hawthorne referring to the British Trade Secretary, Mr Peter Mandelson, in an interview yesterday about Oscar Wilde.
Mr Hawthorne, gay star of Yes Minister, was interviewed live by BBC1's One O'Clock News from the site of a new memorial statue in London to Wilde, who was jailed for being gay. --(PA)
Following the "outing" of Mr Mandelson as gay on BBC2's Newsnight the BBC issued a memo to all news staff banning them from referring to allegations about Mr Mandelson's private life.