What should have been a time of celebration for gay people in France turned into a nightmare when, a few weeks before France was due to become the latest European country to allow same-sex marriage, a young couple was assaulted in Paris on 7 April for being gay.

We consider that the courts sometimes fail to recognize disability hate crime, because judges can miss or misunderstand the element of disability-motivated hostility present in the offence.

In the era when AIDS was becoming more prominent and education about LGBTQ issues was needed more than ever, Thatcher's government decided that gays were not full citizens worthy of respect and that they were too much of a threat to be allowed equal rights. Thatcher thus became not only the 'milk snatcher', but also the 'gay dispatcher'.

True, she was an extraordinary woman but she was extraordinary for mostly the wrong reasons. So many of her policies were flawed and often heartless. Nevertheless, I don't rejoice in her death. I commiserate, as I do with the death of any person. I send condolences to her family and friends.

Hate crime is not a new concept. Throughout history there are many examples of groups being marginalised, oppressed and discriminated against. Many of the world's conflicts have stemmed from hatred towards particular groups, and genocide is hate crime in its extremist form. Hate crime is most definitely a human rights issue and should be treated as such.

While The Queen has spoken approvingly of the UK's many races and faiths, for six decades she has ignored LGBT Britons. If she treated black and Asian Britons in the same way, she'd be denounced as a racist. Why the double standards? The monarchy is homophobic - if not by conscious intent, then certainly by default.