LGBTQ+ veterans are demanding compensation and an apology from the prime minister for how they were treated in the armed services during the so-called “gay ban”.
Homosexuality was decriminalised in 1967, but anyone who was gay in the armed forces before 2000 faced dismissal, highly invasive medical examinations, loss of pension and even imprisonment in extreme cases.
Now, campaigners are demanding compensation for loss of earnings and an apology from Rishi Sunak for the damage done to the thousands of people affected by the ban.
Carol Morgan was just 24 when she was forced out of a job she loved in the Women’s Royal Army Corps because a colleague reported her relationship with her girlfriend.
She said it “destroyed her completely”, ended the only career she had wanted, and forced her into the closet for the next 30 years, too ashamed to admit who she was.
She added: “I was humiliated. I was so young. They made me feel like a criminal.
“I was heartbroken, and it was the devastation of my life. They destroyed me as a person.”
‘The most humiliating time of my life’
She said officers ransacked her room searching for evidence, before interrogating her for six hours.
After she “confessed” to being gay, she was sent to a psychiatrist who, she said, “was only interested in asking questions about what we did in bed”.
“It was the most humiliating time of my life.”
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The state of Britain’s armed forces
Dismissed gay military veterans served ‘great injustice’
Carol Morgan was forced out of the Women’s Royal Army Corps because a colleague reported her relationship with her girlfriend
‘Decades of hurt’
Ms Morgan was only able to come out as a lesbian four years ago, thanks to the support of Fighting With Pride, an organisation that supports LGBTQ+ veterans.
Executive chair Craig Jones MBE also served during the ban, and came out on the day it was lifted.
He said: “In the late 1990s, I was one of the navigators in our aircraft carriers HMS Invincible and HMS Illustrious, and every time I came into port in that ship, I was looking down the gangway – not to see if the fenders and the lines were in place, but to see if there might be a police car waiting on the jetty to take me away.
“There must be compensation because these veterans have suffered decades of hurt, and they suffer financial impoverishment, and that must find its remedy.
“But actually, this is a community that seeks to restore its honour. They deserve an apology on behalf of the nation, by the prime minister. They deserve individual apologies by the heads of the armed forces.
“They deserve to have their ranks restored.
“And they should be given back their berets so when we march at the national Service Of Remembrance past the Cenotaph, like all other veterans, to remember those that we have lost, they are able to do so with great honour.”
Former RAF officer Caroline Paige with Craig Jones. Pic: FWP
Nearly three in four ‘treated like a criminal’
A report published this week by researchers at Northumbria University highlighted the long-term damage the ban inflicted on veterans.
The team surveyed more than 100 LGBTQ+ people who served before 2000, many of whom were dismissed after traumatic military police investigations.
Other key findings of the two-year study called Lost And Found:
• 82% of respondents were subjected to intrusive investigations, 72% felt vilified and “treated like a criminal”
• 65% of LGBT+ veterans surveyed said it affected their employment and careers
• 56% said it had impacted having a place to live
• 84.4% of survey respondents reported being lonely
A review by Lord Etherton into the experiences of people who served between 1967 and 2000 has been carried out, and the government is expected to publish the recommendations soon.
A government spokesperson said: “We are proud of our LGBT+ veterans and grateful for their service in defence of our nation.
“We can confirm that Lord Etherton has concluded his independent review and submitted his report to the government.
“In line with the terms of reference, we will carefully consider the findings and respond in due course.”
