LATE BOYZONE STAR’S HEART CONDITION CONFIRMED

A forensic report has confirmed that the late openly-gay singer Stephen Gately died from natural causes related to an undiagnosed heart condition.

There had been speculation that the star’s death, while on holiday with his partner Andrew Cowles in Majorca in October, had been related to either drugs or alcohol abuse.

The denials by Cowles and Gately’s family have now been confirmed in the new report which states that the Boyzone band member suffered from atheromatosis; a thickening of the arteries.

The condition caused Gately’s lungs to fill with fluid, known as acute pulmonary oedema. The reported further confirmed that neither drugs nor alcohol were involved in his death.

While atheromatosis is rare in people under the age of 50, Gately’s mother has reported that there was a history of heart problems in the family.

Shortly after the tragedy, the circumstances around Gately’s death were described as being “…more than a little sleazy” by Jan Moir in her column for the Daily Mail.

The article, which was labelled as homophobic, was the target of a record number of complaints to the UK’s Press Complaints Commission. Moir later apologised but was still honoured with the Bigot of the Year title at the annual Stonewall Awards.