Dr Edith Summerskill, a former Chairman of the Labour Party, was an early advocate of Britain's free National Health Service and a vocal campaigner for women's equality.

He later wrote in The Guardian: "I still recall being struck dumb on being shown, as an undergraduate, a note from an Oxford tutor to a successful candidate's father: 'Many thanks for lunch, and the trip in the Rolls.

As chief executive of Stonewall, he succeeded Director Angela Mason in early 2003, expanding its work from parliamentary lobbying into other fields including workplace equality and campaigning against homophobia in schools.

[17] Stonewall's Education for All programme, launched in 2005 to help tackle homophobic bullying in Britain's schools and universities, was supported by 70 major teaching and children's organisations.

[19] He had for three years been a member of a Steering Group advising the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry on establishing the commission, which has statutory powers for the first time to promote equality for lesbian and gay people.

In 2010 he was a finalist as Ernst & Young Social Entrepreneur of the Year and in 2011 he was shortlisted as Britain's Most Admired Charity Chief Executive in the Third Sector Awards.

[23] In November 2011 Anthony Ryan, 42, received an eight-month prison sentence at Liverpool Crown Court after threatening to "put a bullet in the head" of Summerskill.

The 2008 Stonewall Awards faced protests[27] from transgender rights activists, but Summerskill maintained that the organisation should exclusively campaign for "gay men, lesbians and bisexuals".

Speaking at the 2010 Liberal Democrat conference, Summerskill suggested "lots" of gay people didn't want same-sex marriage to be legal.

Some of the arguments Ben and Stonewall put forward at the time [2010] were quoted by homophobes to justify their opposition to same-sex marriage and this was hugely damaging.