A complaint that a newspaper comment piece about Stephen Gately's death was "inaccurate", "intrusive" and "discriminatory" has been rejected by the Press Complaints Commission (PCC).

Andrew Cowles, Gately's civil partner, and a record 25,000 members of the public had lodged the complaint about two articles by Jan Moir, published on 16 October and 23 October last year in the Daily Mail.

The PCC said it could fully understand why Mr Cowles and other complainants were upset by the article but ruled that Ms Moir's comments had not breached press guidelines.

Gately died of natural causes due to a pulmonary oedema on October 10 last year at his holiday home on the island of Majorca.

The Crown Prosecution Service has also ruled that the article did not break the law after investigating two complaints made to the Metropolitan Police.

Jan Moir has expressed regret over the offence caused by her piece, but has denied there were homophobic undertones. The PCC recognised flaws in the article, but said the "price of freedom of expression was that columnists said things which other people might find offensive or inappropriate".