British candidate
for Liberal Democrats leadership post comes out

Britain's opposition Liberal Democrats were the focus of more startling headlines Thursday, as the front-runner in the race to become party leader acknowledged he has had gay relationships. Simon Hughes's statement followed days after a fellow leadership contender quit over claims that he had had an affair with a male prostitute.

The party was plunged into crisis earlier this month when leader Charles Kennedy resigned after acknowledging a drinking problem. Now the party, which enjoys increased popularity due to its opposition to the Iraq war, is struggling to shift the public debate from personalities to policy. "I believe that people have a right to a private life, providing that their private life does not impinge upon their public responsibilities," said Hughes, 54, in a statement released to the news media via Britain's Press Association. "I have always maintained that someone's sexual orientation should not be a barrier to public life in modern Britain. I strongly believe that people should have a right to personal privacy. Today, however, I have accepted publicly that I have had homosexual relationships in the past, as well as heterosexual ones."

Hughes, who is unmarried and currently the party's president, in the past has denied gay relations, and it was unclear what prompted the acknowledgment, first made in an exclusive interview with The Sun newspaper on Thursday. The newspaper said Hughes believes his statement will not affect his bid for the party leadership.

Thursday's front-page story in The Sun, under the bold headline "I'm Gay Too," is the latest in a string of sensational developments in the left-of-center party. Kennedy, 46, who took the helm in 1999, stepped down earlier this month after acknowledging treatment for alcohol abuse. Senior Liberal Democrats hoped the resulting leadership contest would prove an ideal platform to highlight policies and raise the party's profile, just as David Cameron's election late last year as Conservative leader fueled publicity for the main opposition party.

But the impact on the Lib Dems' popularity was immediate, and a Populus poll conducted days after Kennedy's resignation saw its support slip by three points to just 16%, its lowest rating since 2001. Last week, law-and-order spokesman Mark Oaten, 41, quit the leadership race only days before the News of the World newspaper alleged he had paid for sex with a 23-year-old male prostitute. The married father of two released a statement to reporters apologizing for "errors of judgment" and for the embarrassment caused to family and friends. (AP)