Yahoo News Lib Dem MP came out as pansexual to stop 'unscrupulous journalists' outing her
A Liberal Democrat MP has revealed she came out as pansexual to stop journalists from outing her.
Layla Moran wrote in the i that unnamed reporters had been speaking to people close to her about her personal life in recent months.
The Oxford West and Abingdon MP, who has been touted as a potential Lib Dem leadership candidate, announced on Twitter yesterday that she was in a relationship with her girlfriend.
2020 is a new decade and a new path in my journey. Last year I fell in love with a wonderful woman. Something I’d never even considered before. Now I am just happy #Pansexual #OutAndProud pic.twitter.com/jdfz87Hdkx
— Layla Moran 🔶 🏳️🌈 (@LaylaMoran) January 2, 2020
Writing in the i, she said: “Over the last couple of months journalists have been sniffing around this story.
“They've asked friends, made indirect approaches, and more recently, very direct approaches to people I know, asking for information about my personal life.
She added that “these unscrupulous journalists give the entire profession a bad name”.
“It is no longer okay to threaten out anyone in public life or otherwise. But the fact remains that not everyone believes this.
“So that is why I felt that I had to speak up quite as publicly as I did.”
The journalists, and the titles they work for, are not mentioned in the piece.
A pansexual person is someone who can be attracted to another person regardless of their sex or gender identity.
In an interview with Pink News, Ms Moran said she had been asked if she’d considered whether it would affect her career.
“Parliament is a weird, backwards place,” she said.
“I don’t know if there’s any other (MPs) who would identify as pansexual, and not that many who identify as bisexual – there are a few women who are brilliant role models who have come out in their lesbian relationships.”
Ms Moran serves as the Liberal Democrat spokesperson for education and the digital, culture, media and sport brief.
She is considered a potential candidate to take over the party’s leadership from Jo Swinson, who lost her seat in last month’s election.
