LONDON – Nigel Evans, a Welsh member of the United Kingdom Parliament, has publicly announced that he is gay. While celebrities and politicians coming out in Britain is not as big of a deal as it is in the United States, Evans announcement is interesting since he managed to be absent during the vote to legalize civil unions for gays, missed another vote to permit gays to adopt and voted against equalizing the age of consent for gay sex acts.

Evans said that he came out now because another lawmaker threatened to out him.

“The Member of Parliament was saying to anyone who would listen, ‘Why is it that Nigel Evans leads a life whereby he is gay to some people and not others?’ … I could not afford it to be used as leverage against me. I couldn’t take the risk. I don’t want any other MP to face that kind of nastiness again.” Evans said.