UK

£75m redress scheme to be launched for veterans who suffered under ‘gay ban’

Defence Secretary John Healey described the historic wrongs faced by LGBT+ service personnel as a ‘moral stain on our nation’.


LGBT+ veterans affected by the ‘gay ban’ are set to receive financial redress (John Walton/PA)

PA Wire
Nina Lloyd
12/11/2924

Veterans who suffered mistreatment in the armed forces under the “gay ban” will receive up to £70,000 each as part of a £75 million scheme being launched by the Government.

Defence Secretary John Healey described the historic wrongs faced by LGBT+ service personnel as a “moral stain on our nation”, ahead of applications for the financial redress programme opening on Friday.

The total amount available will be £75 million, exceeding the cap of £50 million recommended in an independent review by Lord Etherton on the impact of the ban.

The historic treatment of LGBT veterans was a moral stain on our nation

Defence Secretary John Healey

Under the policy, which lasted until the year 2000, members of the armed who were – or were thought to be – gay or transgender were subjected to brutal interrogation and dismissal.

Some have suffered lifelong consequences, being left without access to their military pensions, shunned by family and friends and facing diminished career prospects.

The previous Tory government accepted in full the recommendations of Lord Etherton’s report into the policy in December 2023, which included a proposal for a financial awards scheme capped at £50 million.

But campaigners and charities including the Royal British Legion said the figure was “inadequate and unacceptably low” and demanded a better payout.

Defence Secretary John Healey said the Government was ‘determined to right the wrongs of the past and recognise the hurt that too many endured’ (James Manning/PA)
PA Wire

The Ministry of Defence said it had increased the amount after “extensive engagement with LGBT veterans”.

Veterans who were dismissed or discharged because of their sexual orientation or gender identity are to receive £50,000.