Stonewall stuck Hammond’s comments on the home page of their website and attacked him for sending the 'wrong message' to young people

THE gay charity Stonewall is always quick off the mark to take offence. It’s their job.

So they pounced on Richard Hammond for his throwaway line during an episode of Amazon’s The Grand Tour that he is less likely to eat ice cream because he is heterosexual.

7 Richard Hammond got stick for this forgettable gag

It was a gag and not a very funny one but it did raise a laugh in the audience. Probably best forgotten.

Instead, Stonewall stuck Hammond’s comments on the home page of their website and attacked him for sending the “wrong message” to young people.

What message was that then?

The Grand Tour / Amazon Prime 7 Gay charity Stonewall stuck Hammond’s comments on the home page of their website

What concerns me about Stonewall is that they will kick up a fuss about ­something that doesn’t matter but rarely mention a word about the hostile attitude of Muslims towards homosexuality, which threatens gay communities globally.

If you look on the Stonewall site you would be hard-pressed to find one word suggesting Islam persecutes gay sexuality.

RELATED STORIES GRAND TOUR HOMOPHOBIA ROW Richard Hammond slammed for saying 'eating ice cream is gay' during Grand Tour episode NEW YEAR TERROR Man flying from London arrested after landing in Sydney on suspicion of plotting New Year’s Eve terror attack LOVE TRIANGLE AXE ATTACK Horror injuries of dad hacked by love rival who chopped off finger and knocked out 19 teeth COLD WAR HEATS UP Obama kicks out 35 Russian spies and shuts down two of Moscow's 'compounds' over election hack row SLADE SLAYED Merry Christmas Everybody rockers Slade forced to cancel tour after guitarist Dave Hill is run over by a cyclist happy new year? A war over global warming and increased space tourism, Nostradamus' predictions for 2017

Why would that be? Where is the ­campaign to offer Muslims in the UK group counselling sessions to help ­conquer the fears expressed in the Koran? During the various ISIS atrocities, ­Stonewall hardly said a word about gays being thrown off roofs, stoned to death, etc.

Were they concerned, they would be attacked by their liberal chums for being racist, potentially costing themselves ­government patronage or subsidy?

Alamy 7 During the various ISIS atrocities against gay people, ­Stonewall hardly said a word

If that is the case, they should hang their heads in shame. It’s never wrong to do the right thing.

It’s time Stonewall did something brave rather than taking on soft targets like Hammond. Imagine the good they could do by really standing up fearlessly for the people they aim to help. Happy to hear and publish their ­explanation. I won’t hold my breath.

Slow progress from Sir Shifty SAW a headline the other day that said “time’s running out for the ­cheetah” and thought it meant Philip Green was about to be hauled up over his dodgy pension dealings. As you probably know, the headline referred to the fact that the world’s fastest land animal is in danger of extinction. Meanwhile, the UK’s fattest and slowest ­animal has still not agreed to fulfil his obligation to BHS pensioners despite claiming in front of a Commons committee six months ago that he would “sort” it. What he meant to say was “salt” it, ie he wanted to salt away his ill-gotten gains from the pensions regulator. The quicker Green is turned upside down and the £500million comes ­tumbling out of his wallet, the better. Then we can feed him to the cheetah.

Carrie made 60, but drunk Gazza won’t even make George’s 53

PA:Press Association 7 George Michael got to 53 despite a lifetime of drugs and excess

THE only honest assessment I’ve read of George Michael’s life came from his cousin, who told how he had fallen out with the singer years back over his refusal to give up the 20-a-day spliffs, the cocaine and the heroin.

You will be pleased to know that right at the end he did dump the smack for alcohol. The doctors must have been delighted. The real story is that he lived to 53. That was the miracle.

The same is true of Carrie Fisher, who after a lifetime of drugs and booze finally turned teetotal but reportedly returned to the bottle just before her death.

Getty Images 7 Carrie Fisher reportedly returned to the bottle before she passed aged 60

PA 7 And my hopes aren’t high for Paul Gascoigne

The fact she made 60 is a tribute to the medical geniuses of LA. On that basis it’s only a matter of time before Paul Gascoigne goes to that great Star Bar in the sky.

He’s 49 but I have my doubts he will make 53.

I note he is up to his old tricks of being drunk and racist in public but this time got his comeuppance by being kicked down the stairs of a hotel after making the grave mistake of slapping a stranger round the face.

Wouldn’t the media do us all a favour if they simply made a collective decision not to report Gascoigne’s drunken antics until the referee blows the whistle for the last time?

When he does go, steel yourself for more “I’m devastated” and “goodbye legend” stuff on social media. George Michael will have been his warm-up act.

Doctor drama WITHOUT going into the unattractive detail, my doctor suggested I needed a cream to deal with a problem in a sensitive area. Anyway, the pharmacist at the Nuffield in Woking, Surrey, informed me that the tube of ointment was £84.20. In the nicest possible way I told her where to stick it. She informed me that was her job. WENT to see Tchaikovsky’s The Nutcracker by Moscow’s City Ballet where my culturally ignorant chum fell asleep after four minutes. Yes, four minutes. It was Boxing Day so he didn’t even have the turkey coma to blame. How awful.

Cheer up, Justin

PA:Press Association 7 The Archbishop of Canterbury gave a misleading Christmas Day sermon

JUSTIN WELBY, the Archbishop of Canterbury, claimed in his Christmas Day sermon that “economic progress, technological progress and communication progress hasn’t resulted in economic justice”. He’s quite wrong and here are the stats:

Globally, the number of people living in extreme poverty has fallen below ten per cent for the first time

World hunger has reached its lowest point in 25 years

Average household income in the UK grew at its fastest rate since 2001

Employment is at a record high of more than 75 per cent and the introduction of the national living wage means pay inequality has fallen

The world is getting healthier with malaria deaths down 60 per cent, Aids down 45 per cent and polio set to be wiped out altogether in 2017

Global carbon emissions did not grow at all in 2016 for the third year running. Acid pollution is back to 1930s levels and the ozone layer is set to be healed by 2050

It’s all great news for the world. But that doesn’t suit the Archbishop who is the demon of despair. The only number that is going the wrong way is the size of his Church of England congregations.

They look like the Daily Mirror’s circulation figures, down from 2.2million in the Sixties to 750,000 today. So whatever cobblers the Archbishop is talking, even his own flock aren’t listening.

Out of border THE Virgin flight from New York lands at Heathrow at 7.37am carrying my relatives who are staying for Christmas. They finally came into the arrivals area at 9.46am – two hours and nine minutes later. Is this a record? The delay was caused by a huge queue at UK Borders where a number of the passport booths were unmanned. Surely it won’t come as a surprise to the chaps drawing up the rota that planes are coming in at certain times or how many passengers are on the plane so they can staff up accordingly. But isn’t the answer just to fill the hall with hundreds of hi-tech passport readers then the whole thing will take five minutes? You don’t think UK Border has done a commercial deal with Costa Coffee to be paid for every cup we buy while waiting endlessly for friends and family? Surely not. MY No1 Christmas present . . . gloves with two of the fingers grooved so that you can continue to text easily without taking them off. A first world problem solved.

British Gas fired

FOR 30 years column reader Miriam Makin was with British Gas, finally paying a whopping £175 a month for her home in Stockport.

At last she took my advice that loyalty never pays in energy or insurance and checked out my comparison site A Spokesman Said.

Guess what? She has just switched to Sainsbury’s, where her new bill is £103.68 a month, saving an astonishing £800 a year.

It’s damned cold out right now but instead of chopping up the furniture, get switching. Love your saving stories. Send them to kelvin@the-sun.co.uk.

Winning pun-ters SIGN on a camper van on the Isle of Man – No Jaffa Cakes Left In This Van Overnight. Laundry service in Stirchley, Birmingham – Iron Maiden. Hotel lavatory in Cala Bona, Majorca – Aseos. Dog groomer’s in Shepshed, Leics – Short Bark And Sides. Gardener’s van in Sydenham, South East London – Planet Turf. Chinese takeaway in Basildon, Essex – Wing Soon. Sign on door at Oasis Dentist, Towcester, Northants – Open Wide. Now the holidays are over there’s no excuse. Keep those punnies coming to kelvin@ the-sun.co.uk.