Delays to compensation for LGBT veterans subject to homophobia are unacceptable - Paul Johnson, Michael Cashman & Alistair Lexden

Lord Etherton’s report, completed in May 2023, made 49 recommendations to the Government aimed at providing redress for the suffering endured by LGBT veterans. In December 2023, Dr Andrew Murrison MP, a junior Defence Minister, stated that the Government was “accepting the intent behind all 49 of Lord Etherton’s recommendations” and had “already implemented almost half of them”.

Having for a long time campaigned on issues relating to LGBT veterans, we have concerns about the way in which the Government is currently proceeding with implementing many of Lord Etherton’s recommendations. We have particularly serious concerns about two issues relating to the awarding of financial compensation, and the amending of records of those discharged.

In respect of financial compensation, Lord Etherton recommended that an appropriate financial award should be made to affected veterans and the Government have accepted this recommendation. Indeed, since December 2023, LGBT veterans have been able to indicate their interest in applying for a financial award via the LGBT Veterans Independent Review website.

However, nearly one year after Lord Etherton’s recommendations, no financial award scheme has been made available. This delay is unjustifiable and cruel. We reminded the Government in March that many LGBT veterans are now in their senior years and living in hardship, and that some have terminal illnesses and will not now live to see the introduction of any financial award scheme.

In December 2023, Dr Andrew Murrison MP stated that, to develop the financial award scheme, the Government “first need to gain a much better understanding of what the affected cohort looks like”. We do not accept this. The Government should have long been able to estimate the size of the cohort and, in any case, due to the passage of time, it is not likely to be very large. Indeed, by March, the Earl of Minto, Defence Minister in the Lords, stated that 415 applications had been made for restorative measures, including financial measures.

We believe that the delay in introducing the financial award scheme is completely unjustifiable. In view of the Government’s inability so far to introduce this urgently needed scheme, we are calling on it to make emergency redress payments to any LGBT veteran with a terminal illness, or who is over 65 and in serious and immediate financial hardship.

In respect of amending of records of those discharged, we have serious concerns about the Government’s approach. Lord Etherton recommended that those administratively discharged should have relevant discharge papers endorsed with a statement that the discharge was pursuant to a policy subsequently held to be unlawful. Baroness Goldie – a former Defence Minister in the Lords, and stalwart supporter of LGBT veterans – said in July 2023 that this was “very reasonable” and “the desire would be to absolutely ensure that these papers were amended and issued as they should have been originally”.

However, in its published guidance, and subsequently confirmed by the Earl of Minto, the Government has made clear that LGBT veterans, or a person of sufficient interest to a deceased LGBT veteran (such as a relative, partner or child), will only be able to apply for a discharge to be qualified and records amended for those discharged after 1967.

The Government’s imposed limit on dealing only with the post-1967 period is unacceptable, because LGBT people could be discharged from the armed forces long before 1967. The scheme that already exists to grant posthumous pardons to people convicted under now repealed homophobic service law extends back centuries to address the long history of discrimination, and so too must the scheme for amending records of those discharged.

If the Government maintains its current approach it will be appalling if, for example, an application is made by the relative of a deceased service person who was discharged, solely on the grounds of sexual orientation, during the Second World War and the response of the Government is to reject the application because it relates to a discharge before 1967. We call on the Government to ensure this does not happen.

Professor Paul Johnson OBE is Executive Dean of the Faculty of Social Sciences at the University of Leeds; Michael Cashman CBE is a former Labour MEP and currently a Labour peer of the House of Lords; Alistair Lexden OBE is a Conservative peer and a Deputy Speaker of the House of Lords.