Military and LGBTQ+ charities have joined forces to urge Keir Starmer to properly fund compensation for victims of the UK military’s ‘gay ban’, which existed until 2000 and saw personnel imprisoned, bullied and assaulted for revealing their sexuality.
A letter signed by over 20 of the UK’s largest LGBTQ+ and veterans’ charities – including Fighting With Pride, Royal British Legion and Help for Heroes – has urged the government to increase the current cap on compensation, currently set at £50 million
Critics say that level of funding would mean an average payout of just £12,500 for those affected by the ban.
The letter reads: “It is the shared view of the LGBT Veterans Coalition and our supporters that payments of this scale will not bring about the sense of justice these veterans deserve, and will not honour the service and sacrifice of a community who faced treatment Lord Etherington described as ‘a stain upon the illustrious history of the Armed Forces.’
“We must not deny LGBTQ+ veterans the justice they are due, nor deny the defence establishment this watershed moment in which the values we share today replace those of the past.”
Craig Jones MBE, who heads up the charity Fighting with Pride, said: “The funding intended for this scheme is inadequate and fails to take account of the shocking treatment inflicted upon a community of veterans who defended our peace and freedom, but were treated in a way in which the Prime Minister said had brought dishonour to our nation.”
A Ministry of Defence spokesperson added: “We deeply regret the treatment of LGBTQ+ serving personnel between 1967 and 2000, which was wholly unacceptable and does not reflect today’s Armed Forces. We are fully committed to ensuring this issue receives parliamentary scrutiny.
“We have already implemented 32 of the 49 recommendations from the LGBTQ+ Veterans Review and we are working with experts across Government to establish an appropriate financial redress scheme and will provide more details later this year.”