Hague did the right thing in issuing that statement laying to rest once and for all rumours about his sexuality. Now that he's made a categorical denial and there is no substance in the rumours, the family should be left alone. Lemit Opik is absolutely wrong. These matters are of concern to the public, if somebody is leading a double life. Honesty in private life is honesty in public life.
He should have come out with that statement years ago, and not be forced into making it at a moment not of his choosing.
But ge should have known better than share a room 'to save money', it simply does not ring true; everyone knows he is extremely well off with his various p/t jobs inc after dinner speaking which supplements his meagre political salary as an MP.

The Right Honourable William Hague is a good man and an asset to Great Britain!

Reginald supports William Hague "100%" and believes the alleged "improper relationship" tales are total tosh and unbelievable!

Hague has always seemed a decent man. He appears to have admitted to sharing a room with this other man. I hope he is not using his wife as "cover" as so many have done before him.

Hague scarcely has clean hands:

"But last week, during the debate on the Queen's speech, Tory leader William Hague referred to the trade secretary as "Lord Mandelson of Rio".

"That quip led to the hints at the allegations, that Mr Mandelson and Mr Dowle, a former BBC political correspondent, had visited gay bars and nightclubs in Rio, surfacing in newspapers the following day."

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk_politics/224534.stm

I hate to break it to the world, but sharing a room with another man doesn't make you gay. Nor even does sharing a bed - I've done that a couple of times with friends, top and tails. The reason Hague referred to his wife's miscarriages are because the absence of children has pointed to as supposed proof that his marriage is a cover for secret gayness. The same was done to Portillo who also was compelled to reveal (in a less dramatic way that he and his wife couldn't have children. The media is behaving very badly in relation to this story and it really leaves a nasty taste in the mouth. To say "questions remain" as this columnist does is quite low - this is tribalism too far and represents all that I dislike about journalism, party loyalties and politics in general.

"Tribal" - is that some codeword for "not coalition"?
Looks like it...

Clem - know it isn't. I'll have you know I think William Hague is a terrible choice for foreign secretary and don't particularly like his politics. But this is a human story not a political one, and I have great sympathy for him as a human being right now - I think the article took the opposite stance. Hague is a Tory politician, therefore all bets are off. That's despicable tribalism in my books.

Mister Lova Lova...

I'm not exactly sure why Hague felt it necessary to divulge in public that he and his wife are having difficulty in starting a family. I think that is completely undignified and an unneccesary public airing of his wifes grief.

I'm finding this whole story hard to take literally. What's really going on here? Who started this story and who wants Hague hung out to dry? (apart from all right-thinking people of course) Has he failed to deliver whatever it was he promised Ashcroft? Is the NS still capable of asking the real questions?

The sex stuff is a smokescreen, most of us could not care less. It's about the money and the hipocrisy.

I sincerely hope that episodes like these don't end up being portrayed as attacks from the left. It's a potentially damaging start to indulging in smear campaigns when what we really should be concentrating on is showing how we are a more viable party than the Coalition is with its highly damaging and economically ruinous policies.

Beware anyone who refers to themselves in the third person as they are mostly insane.

When are the British press and the British people going to get sex out of their minds. I have "slept" with gay people and "straight" people in hotel rooms, cars, on sofas, on the floor and on the beach. The key word here is "slept" it doesn´t mean "fucked".
If you have some problem with the man´s character, that´s your problem and is best kept to yourself. If you know of any political misconduct he has committed, make it known.

The problem is a rumour is spread on the internet. Then the mainstream media use the widespread currency of the rumour as a justification in itself for publishing.

You may remember Andrew Marr's question of Gordon Brown: "A lot of people use prescription painkillers and pills to help them get through, are you one of those people?"

Iain Dale shows wonderful double standards.

In the case of Hague, it's "Guido Fawkes Should Cease & Desist" http://iaindale.blogspot.com/2010/09/guido-fawkes-should-cease-desist.html

In the case of Brown, his justification is, "Marr has heard the same rumours as the rest of us and clearly felt there was a possibility that the rumours might have some validity."

http://iaindale.blogspot.com/2009/09/should-marr-have-asked-that-questio...

Then, in the USA, we have Shirley Sherrod being sacked on the basis of a heavily edited video posted by a hostile blogger.

http://bit.ly/ddqBZI