Jan Moir (; born August 1958) is a British newspaper columnist. She works for the ''

Daily Mail The ''Daily Mail'' is a British daily middle-market tabloid newspaper and news websitePeter Wilb"Paul Dacre of the Daily Mail: The man who hates liberal Britain", ''New Statesman'', 19 December 2013 (online version: 2 January 2014) publish ...

''. Several of her articles have provoked widespread criticism, such as one about Stephen Gately that disputed his official cause of death and linked his death to his sexuality.

Career

Moir currently works for the ''

'', having previously worked for ''

The Daily Telegraph ''The Daily Telegraph'', known online and elsewhere as ''The Telegraph'', is a national British daily broadsheet newspaper published in London by Telegraph Media Group and distributed across the United Kingdom and internationally. It was fo ...

'' and ''

The Observer ''The Observer'' is a British newspaper published on Sundays. It is a sister paper to ''The Guardian'' and ''The Guardian Weekly'', whose parent company Guardian Media Group Limited acquired it in 1993. First published in 1791, it is the w ...

'' newspapers. While at ''The Daily Telegraph'' she wrote the restaurant column "Are You Ready To Order?". Moir has won newspaper awards including the Society of Women Writers and Journalists "

Lynda Lee-Potter Lynda Lee-Potter (; 2 May 1935 – 20 October 2004) was a British journalist. She was best known as a columnist for the '' Daily Mail''. Early years Lynda Higginson was born into a working-class family in the mining town of Leigh, Lancash ...

award" for the outstanding woman journalist of the year in 2005, the

British Press Awards The Press Awards, formerly the British Press Awards, is an annual ceremony that celebrates the best of British journalism. History Established in 1962 by ''The People'' and '' World's Press News'', the first award ceremony for the then-named '' ...

'Interviewer of the Year', and '' What The Papers Say'' Feature Writer of the Year.

Stephen Gately article

In October 2009, Moir wrote an article about Boyzone singer Stephen Gately's death, arguing that his death was not of natural causes, despite this being the conclusion of the coroner's report, and linking his death to his sexuality and same-sex civil partnership. The article was published in the ''Daily Mail'' six days after the singer's death, before his funeral. The article provoked much criticism, with ''Guardian'' columnist

Charlie Brooker Charlton Brooker (born 3 March 1971) is an English television presenter, writer, producer and satirist. He is the creator and co-showrunner of the sci-fi drama anthology series ''Black Mirror'', and has written for comedy series such as ''Bras ...

, for example, describing her article as "a gratuitous piece of gay-bashing" and urging readers to contact the

Press Complaints Commission The Press Complaints Commission (PCC) was a voluntary regulatory body for British printed newspapers and magazines, consisting of representatives of the major publishers. The PCC closed on Monday 8 September 2014, and was replaced by the Indep ...

. After receiving a record number of complaints, the PCC announced that it would investigate. On 6 November 2009, Moir was awarded the Stonewall Bigot of the Year Award jointly with Father John Owen. On 17 February 2010, the Press Complaints Commission, whose chairman at the time was

Paul Dacre Paul Michael Dacre (; born 14 November 1948) is an English journalist and the former long-serving editor of the British right-wing tabloid the ''Daily Mail''. He is also editor-in-chief of DMG Media, which publishes the ''Daily Mail'', ''The Ma ...

, the editor of the ''Daily Mail'', confirmed that although it was "uncomfortable with the tenor of the columnist's remarks", it would not uphold the complaints made. The Crown Prosecution Service also concluded that there was insufficient evidence that the article had breached the law. In an interview on the BBC Radio's '' Today'' programme, PCC chairwoman

Baroness Buscombe Baron is a rank of nobility or title of honour, often hereditary, in various European countries, either current or historical. The female equivalent is baroness. Typically, the title denotes an aristocrat who ranks higher than a lord or knigh ...

said the commission found the article "in many areas extremely distasteful" but that the ''Daily Mail'' had escaped censure because it "just failed to cross the line".

Later incidents

On 30 July 2012, Moir made headlines in the

Netherlands ) , anthem = ( en, "William of Nassau") , image_map = , map_caption = , subdivision_type = Sovereign state , subdivision_name = Kingdom of the Netherlands , established_title = Before independence , established_date = Spanish Netherl ...

when she called Dutch cyclist

Marianne Vos Marianne Vos (; born 13 May 1987) is a Dutch multi-discipline cyclist, who currently rides for UCI Women's WorldTeam . After winning a junior European and World Championship in road racing, she continued her success in senior cycling by becomin ...

"some bitch from Holland" after she defeated Lizzy Armitstead in the

Olympic Olympic or Olympics may refer to Sports Competitions * Olympic Games, international multi-sport event held since 1896 ** Summer Olympic Games ** Winter Olympic Games * Ancient Olympic Games, ancient multi-sport event held in Olympia, Greece b ...

Women's road race and won the gold medal. On 23 April 2013, Moir accused

mezzo-soprano A mezzo-soprano or mezzo (; ; meaning "half soprano") is a type of classical female singing voice whose vocal range lies between the soprano and the contralto voice types. The mezzo-soprano's vocal range usually extends from the A below middle C ...

singer

Katherine Jenkins Katherine Maria Jenkins (born 29 June 1980) is a Welsh singer. She is a mezzo-soprano and performs operatic arias, popular songs, musical theatre, and hymns.London Marathon whilst wearing make-up, designer sunglasses, and diamond earrings. Jenkins tweeted in response, "I adore and support other women ndwish you could do the same." Katy Brand in ''The Daily Telegraph'' reported that Jenkins' comments about Moir's article had been "retweeted hundreds, even thousands of times." She wrote in 2023 " I fear Charles’s Coronation will prove to be the beginning of the end of the monarchy . . . Charles and Camilla are about as charismatic as a couple of garden gnomes. . . something profound died along with the Queen and Prince Philip. And despite Charles's best efforts, no amount of pomp or magic anointing oil will ever bring it back."(

, 23 Feb. 2021.)

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Moir, Jan 1958 births Living people 21st-century British women writers Daily Mail journalists Date of birth missing (living people) English journalists Place of birth missing (living people)