Among the loving tributes to George Michael this week was a touching front page from The Sun that said: “You were something special, George.” You can see why his death must have been especially upsetting for the newspaper’s owners and editors, because they adored George so much that he complained that they referred to him as a “poof” and a “pervert”. And nothing says you feel someone’s special as much as calling them a poof and a pervert.

On Christmas morning, Rupert Murdoch probably leaned across to Jerry Hall with a tender kiss and whispered: “Happy Christmas my little poofy pervert.” I expect Kelvin Mackenzie writes: “To my darling pervert, forever my poof”, on Christmas cards to his kids.

The Sun went even further when George campaigned against the Iraq War. “RIP George Michael’s Career: 1982-2002”, ran one headline. Presumably this is their way of saying nothing makes you more special and loved than being a poof and a pervert whose “career has been waning for some time”.

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So if Jeremy Corbyn wants to win The Sun over, he should be arrested for cruising in the toilets at Debenhams. Then, at the next election, The Sun will declare: “He may not be pervect when it comes to singing the national anthem, but Cocky Corbyn gets our vote for his special perving skills. VOTE LABOUR!”

George himself joined in with the banter. When The Sun’s record of phone hacking was revealed, he remarked: “I’m glad to see the exposure of Rupert Murdoch, who has tried to ruin so many lives including my own.” Which must have been his own endearing way of saying he hoped Murdoch would get away with everything and eventually achieve his aim of owning 100 per cent of Sky.

George Michael: a life in pictures Show all 20 1 /20 George Michael: a life in pictures George Michael: a life in pictures 1982 Wham perform at the Hammersmith Odeon Rex George Michael: a life in pictures 1983 George Micheal and Andrew Ridley perform in concert in June 1983 Rex Features George Michael: a life in pictures 1984 May 1984 Exclusive Photocall with Wham When Their Song 'Wake Me Up Before You Go-go' Hit Number One in the Charts at Bbc Tv Centre George Michael and Andrew Ridgeley Rex Features George Michael: a life in pictures 1985 Ivor Novello Awards at the Grosvenor House Hotel, George Michael (songwriter of the Year) and Andrew Ridgeley Rex Features George Michael: a life in pictures 1985 Andrew Ridgeley and George Michael in Tiananmen Square, during their WHAM! in China tour in 1985 Rex Features George Michael: a life in pictures 1986 rank Bruno Boxer 1986 George Michael And Frank Bruno. British And European Heavyweight Champion Frank Bruno Flew Off For A Winning Weekend In Las Vegas Yesterday And Found Himself Sitting Next To George Michael The Wham! Star. Rex Features George Michael: a life in pictures 1986 George Michael is presented with an award by Elton John during the 1986 Brit Awards Rex Features George Michael: a life in pictures 1986 George Michael and Freddie Mercury during a Queen party at the Groucho Club Rex Features George Michael: a life in pictures 1991 WHAM! reunited during the "Rock in Rio" concert in Rio de Janeiro Rex Features George Michael: a life in pictures 1993 George Michael appears outside the high court, a case where micheal fought Sony Music for failing to promote his albumn "Listen without prejudice Vol.1" Rex Features George Michael: a life in pictures 1995 David Frost interviewed George Michael following his Sony contract dispute Rex Features George Michael: a life in pictures 1997 The pop star was visibly moved during the funeral of Princess Diana Rex Features George Michael: a life in pictures 1998 Michael gave a press conference ahead of his public service for aids charity "Angel Food" following his conviction for engaging in a sex act in a public toilet Rex Features George Michael: a life in pictures 2004 George Michael poses at the Sunset Virgin Megastore where he made an apperance to sign copies of his new CD 'Patience' Getty George Michael: a life in pictures 2005 George Michael poses during the photocall of his documentary film 'George Michael - A different Story' by Southan Morris during the 55th Berlin Film Festival Getty George Michael: a life in pictures 2005 Musicians Pete Townhsend from The Who, George Michael and David Gilmour from Pink Floyd perform 'Hey Jude' with children on stage at the finale of 'Live 8 London' in Hyde Park Getty George Michael: a life in pictures 2007 George Michael arrives at Brent Magistrates Court in west London as he faces charges of driving while unfit through drugs. The former Wham! star's legal team had hoped he could be absent from the trial but he was ordered by District Judge Katherine Marshall to appear on the first day Getty George Michael: a life in pictures 2007 George Michael performs the first concert at the newly rebuilt Wembley Stadium Getty George Michael: a life in pictures 2011 George Michael speaks to the media during a press conference at the Royal Opera House, central London on May 11, 2011. The event was to announce his 'Symphonica' European tour which is set to visit historic venues such as Prague's State Opera House, Paris' Palais Garnier and London's Royal Opera House Getty George Michael: a life in pictures 2012 George Michael performs during the Closing Ceremony on Day 16 of the London 2012 Olympic Games at Olympic Stadium Getty

Some people have objected that we shouldn’t “make his death political”. And it’s hard to see why anyone would read anything political into the life of a pop star who campaigned for 30 years for gay rights and was despised by half of America for opposing the Iraq War.

It was the same with Fidel Castro. Most people wanted to make nice comments about his funny little beard and leave posts on Twitter such as, “I hope Heaven has plenty of cigars in stock lol #bigloveFidel”. But some people had to spoil things by mentioning Cuba and nuclear weapons.

Instead of harping on about his flamboyant views on sexuality, we should remember George through his hit songs, such as “I want your sex”.

The difficulty for anyone who wants to remember an unpolitical George is that he did manage to complicate things by expressing anti-establishment opinions. For example, the correct response to being arrested in a public toilet, as written in the official politicians’ handbook, is to make an announcement at your front gate with your wife and children by your side. “I apologise deeply for my moment of madness,” you will say. “I had eaten three packets of Cheesy Wotsits and the E numbers must have gone to my head – which is why I was dressed in a crotchless pair of Speedo swimming trunks and smothered in Vaseline, having chained myself to a radiator in the urinal while fellating a headmaster at Bristol Temple Meads Railway Station.”

Instead, George Michael wrote a song called “Outside” that began, “Take me to the places that I love best. Let’s go outside (I’m servicing the community),” and came with a video of him dressed as a cop in a public toilet. But this probably just referred to his love of picking up litter to keep toilets tidy. What a shame that gay rights activists have twisted it to be a comment on the ridiculous amount of effort and expense that went into his arrest.

George explained his opposition to the Iraq War by saying: “If Saddam has to be removed, why did we leave him there for 12 years and at times support him? Why do we leave Ariel Sharon bombing the West Bank while suddenly deciding to take on Saddam?”

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Thank the Lord we didn’t base our foreign policy on that naive, foolish analysis from a pop star, and left important matters to clever people like Tony Blair and George W Bush who understood the situation properly.

He also said he doubted the claims that Saddam had weapons of mass destruction, whereas most MPs – with their lifetime’s experience of political affairs – understood with their superior judgement you were supposed to realise that two years later, then go: “How were we supposed to know”?