Compensation for LGBT veterans who suffered abuse in the military will begin in January, the Defense Secretary has announced.
Veterans Minister Al Carns said the government would launch a £50m financial compensation scheme next year for victims of the army’s “gay ban” before 2000.
The announcement is as follows Lord Etherton’s report Last year, the story revealed decades of bullying, assault and expulsion of LGBT service members – often leaving them without income or pensions.
Kearns told the House of Commons that “the treatment of LGBT veterans is completely unacceptable”.
Britain decriminalized homosexuality in 1967, but the ban in the military lasted until 2000.
The Defense Department said at the time that the rationale for the policy included “maintaining operational effectiveness and efficiency.”
But Lord Etherton’s report said there were “incomprehensible policies of homophobic bigotry” in the armed forces.
Lord Etherton, Britain’s first openly gay senior judge, has found a culture of blatant homophobia in the military – reinforced by bullying, blackmail and sexual assault.
Many gay service members have been fired, lost job opportunities, and shunned by family and friends.
In July 2023, after Lord Etherton’s report was released, then Prime Minister Rishi Sunak apologized in Parliament, calling the ban a “shocking failure” by the British government.
The report makes 49 recommendations to the government, including:
- Affected veterans will receive “appropriate financial incentives”, capped at a total of £50m
- Reinstatement of medals that must be returned upon dismissal or discharge
- Clarification of pension rights
- this Special Veterans Badge Awarded
Speaking in the House of Commons, Kearns said the government had “met 32 of the recommendations” and that a “financial recovery plan will be delivered by the end of this year and launched in January next year”.
Kearns added that the Department of Defense was “working with government experts to develop an appropriate financial compensation package.”
Labor backbencher Chris Ward said “veterans are concerned about the impact of the pay cap”.
Veterans charities have warned that this means actual compensation payments will not be enough.
A report by the National Audit Office found that up to 4,000 veterans may be eligible for compensation, meaning the average payout could be around £12,500.
Some LGBT veterans awarded special badges to commemorate the injustices they faced tell the bbc They refused to wear it until the government paid them compensation.
