LGBTQ+ militant veterans, sacked during the UK armed forces’ ‘gay ban’, will picket the Ministry of Defence (MOD) in London on Friday, November 8 at 10.30am.
The veterans, “forgotten this Armistice Weekend”, according to Peter Tatchell Foundation, will be protesting the Government’s failure to pay adequate and fair compensation to LGBTQ+ veterans who were sacked during the military gay ban.
The Labour government undertook to raise the £50million cap on LGBTQ+ veterans’ compensation, previously promised by the Conservative government.
“The government have failed to make adequate compensation payments for wrecked lives.”
In a release, Peter Tatchell Foundation said: “Labour have now broken this promise, once again victimising LGBTQ+ veterans who have been recognised to be treated unequally over the last 23 years since the Equality Act and the ban on LGBTs serving in the armed forces was lifted 25 years ago.
“The government have failed to make adequate compensation payments for wrecked lives.
“In the budget the government have undertaken to increase compensation to Infected Blood Scandal victims to £11.8billion. The government have undertaken to increase compensation to Horizon Post Office Scandal victims to £1.8billion. The government are refusing to increase compensation for sacked LGBTQ+ military veterans – thrown out because they were gay. “
The MOD is about to release a compensation scheme that will only pay £12,500 or less to the LGBTQ+ veterans affected by the ‘gay ban’, even though there are only 676 claimants.
Peter Tatchell Foundation is calling on the MOD and the government to pay fair compensation equivalent to that of the blood and post office scandal victims.
Adrian Radford, a former Sgt in the Intelligence Corps, said: “We all believed the government would do the right thing by LGBTQ+ veterans who proudly served their country, yet we have been forgotten on a weekend that is supposed to remember all veterans – those who have passed and those who still live with the horrors of the ban that changed our lives forever.
“As veterans we call upon the MOD and Government to recognise the sum of £12,500 is derisory and damaging, the inequality and unfair treatment when compared to the other scandal victims is causing even more harm. As we remember those veterans who have fallen, please remember the LGBTQ+ veterans who are living”.
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