Excuse me?
When Braverman claimed recently that migrants were pretending to be LGBTQIA+ to gain entry into the UK many of us were left thinking, how could she possibly know that? And how does she want them to prove it?

So, how does this work?
In reality, just 2% of asylum claims submitted in the UK point to their sexuality as a reason. But for all asylum claims, "fear of persecution" must be proved by applicant, which might mean 'proving' their sexuality. Transcripts from 2013 showed interviewers asking inappropriate and frankly irrelevant sexual questions as part of this process. And in the end it is down to how 'believable' the interviewer deems the story on the day. This has led to asylum seekers going to desperate lengths to prove their sexuality, including pornography, memberships to queer gyms, being pictured in queer spaces, and message transcripts between partners. These are people who have had to hide their sexuality for their safety, suddenly being told to be completely open and vulnerable.

Why?
In a new interview with his own daughter, 66-year-old Richard Curtis admitted feeling uncomfortable rewatching some of his films today. Famously in Bridget Jones' Diary, the titular character's body and weight is a relentless focus, viewed obsessively as too large - despite her surely not being more than a size 12. Similar treatment was seen of Natalie in Love Actually - even more laughable considering her obviously slim and conventionally attractive appearance. Meanwhile, criticism of Notting Hill has focused on the blatant lack of people of colour in an area of London home to many Black communities.

'I’ve hung on to the feeling that I wouldn’t know how to write those parts. I think I was just sort of stupid and wrong about that.'

So are we cancelling Love Actually this year?
That's definitely not our intention. We think it's always a good exercise to look back on past actions and identify where we could have done better, and we're glad Curtis is emotionally intelligent enough to recognise this in his work. It's a personal choice whether you're done with these films or they remain classics in your eyes!