MoD to amend records for service people sacked for being LGBT before 1967

The extensive Etherton Review, published last year by judge Lord Etherton, examined the historical injustice of discriminatory practice in the British armed forces between 1967, when homosexuality was decriminalised in England and Wales, and 2000 when a judgement in the European Court of Human Rights found MoD policy in relation to discharges of LGBT service people was in breach of the European Convention on Human Rights.

The review made 49 recommendations to the government for correcting the historical injustice of the MoD’s policies in administratively discharging people for being gay or trans.

Prof Johnson and Lords Cashman and Lexden had campaigned, most recently with a piece in The Yorkshire Post last month, on behalf of applying a number of the recommendations to soldiers who had been discriminated against before 1967.

Speaking to The Yorkshire Post, Prof Johnson said the fact the recommendations weren’t applied to those who had served before 1967 was “inadequate.”

“Obviously gay and lesbian service people were also administratively discharged before 1967 and we felt that it was important in those circumstances that those historical records should be corrected,” he said.

An expert in the relationship between law, human rights and sexual orientation, Prof Johnson continues: “The basic logic was ‘we shouldn’t go beyond 1967 because same sex acts were a criminal offence’. I can understand why you would put that forward, but we didn’t agree with it because, as we pointed out to the government in our interactions with them, the government has extended posthumous pardons for people convicted of repealed homosexual offences going back to the sixteenth century.”

In a recent letter to Lord Cashman, Minister for defence people and families Andrew Murrison MP confirms that three of the review’s recommendations will be extended to service people administratively discharged before 1967.

Those sacked for being LGBT before the decriminalisation of homosexuality, or their families, can now apply for a restoration of their rank where they had been demoted, for publication of former Officers’ Service details in its official record, The Gazette, and for replacement discharge papers to be issued.

Despite victory in what Prof Johnson calls “the symbolism of record-keeping”, he calls on the Government to act quicker in implementing the recommendations of the Etherton review.

“The key criticism would be about the financial restoration, because that hasn’t come yet. The scheme hasn’t been announced. You can’t apply for it, you can register an interest.

“The key issue with this scheme that needs to come, which they’ve committed to implement, is this population is old, and some of them are ill and some are dying. The longer the government waits to introduce the financial compensation scheme, the likelihood is people will progressively miss out.”