London mayoral candidate and former cop Brian Paddick's been running around our pretty little head today. It all started when we chatted about his forth coming autobiography, in which he talks about his boyfriend's physical abuse.

Sure, it's not a very sexy topic, but it got us thinking about him. Plus the story has been everywhere, so it's kind of hard to avoid his face.

Then, later in the afternoon, after we had worked through the brunt of our Paddick distraction, we came across some pictures from this weekend's Lighthouse Gala Auction, which made us think about Paddick even more.

And now it's all over. We can no longer contain ourselves…

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Brian Paddick's life is an open book. Literally.

The former London copper and current mayoral hopeful recently penned an autobiography, Line of Fire, in which he spills all of his beans. The book won't be released until later this month, but Londoners have been getting sneak peeks, including a look into Paddick's tumultuous coming out experience, like leaving his fiance and shacking up with an abusive boyfriend, James Renolleau:

On one occasion he stormed out after an argument and I ran after him, calling for him to come back.

When I caught up with him he wheeled round, floored me with a punch and started kicking me while I lay in the gutter.

All I could do was curl up in a ball and try to protect my head with my arms while I waited for him to stop.

Paddick stayed with the Frenchman for five years, from 1995 to 2000, when the officer finally left him. There's really no punchline for that one, huh?

Elton John's getting political. The bent British singer decided to use his fame and power to endorse homo Brian Paddick for London mayor.

Sir Elton John and his civil partner David Furnish are lending their support to Brian Paddick, the Liberal Democrat candidate in the London mayoral election.

One option being considered is for the celebrity couple to hold a fundraising dinner for Paddick, who was until recently Britain’s most senior openly gay police officer.

The endorsement is likely to increase Paddick’s appeal to London’s younger voters, as well as to some members of the gay community.

Um, really? Because the gays were probably already aware of Paddick's candidacy and the youth- well, do the youth care about Elton John. We figure he's bigger among the old queen set.

• PlanetOut-owned Men magazine named abdominally-bless Johnny Castle as their "Man of The Year". On a somewhat related note, Matt Damon won People magazine's Sexiest Man top slot. Note that the gays have far more flare - and flesh. [See a NSFW shot of Castle, after the jump. And be sure to check out the magazine's new blog.]

• Iranian Chief Justice halts "gay" execution, calls sentence violation of Islamic teachings:

The International Gay and Lesbian Human Rights Commission (IGLHRC) has learned that the Iranian Chief Justice, Ayatollah Seyed Mahmoud Hashemi Shahrudi, has nullified the impending death sentence of Mr. Makvan Mouloodzadeh, a 21-year old Iranian citizen found guilty of multiple counts of anal rape (ighab), allegedly committed when he was 13 years old. The Iranian Chief Justice described the death sentence to be in violation of Islamic teachings, the religious decrees of high-ranking Shiite clerics, and the law of the land.

For the record, no one accused the man of rape.

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