“We must not deny LGBT veterans the justice they are due”
BY BETHAN RUSH, IMAGE VIA CANVA
Veterans who were dismissed from the armed forces for being LGBTQIA have sent an open letter to 10 Downing Street to call out the “inadequate” compensation the government has offered. The letter, sent by Fighting With Pride, responded to the £50 million budget that has been set aside for those affected by the previous military ban.
Although homosexuality started being decriminalised in the UK in 1967, a “gay ban” continued in the armed forces until 2000. This banned those who were or were considered gay, lesbian, bi, or transgender from being part of the armed forces.
The recent open letter has said that the current budget “will lead to inadequate and unacceptably low average payments”. According to the National Audit Office, this would make the average payout for those eligible for compensation £12,500 each.
The Chairman of the LGBT Veterans Coalition, Craig Jones said: “Although we cannot right the wrongs of the past, the Government should now act on the recommendations of the Etherton review to fix the lives broken by the ban, it is what LGBTQIA veterans deserve.”
James Needham, the CEO of Help for Heroes added: “LGBTQIA veterans, both before and immediately after the lifting of the ban in 2000, experienced an almost unique set of injuries due to this discriminatory policy, including wrongful imprisonment, loss of careers and pensions, and exclusion from the veteran community.”
When the report came out last year, former PM Rishi Sunak called the ban “an appalling failure of the British State during which members of our Armed Forces endured the most horrific sexual abuse and violence, homophobic bullying and harassment, all while bravely serving this country.”
The Ministry of Defence called the treatment of LGBTQIA veterans “wholly unacceptable” and is said to be sharing more details of the compensation scheme later this year.
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