Campaigners call on government to give compensation to ex-military members kicked out of the armed forces because of their sexuality
- Gay people were not allowed to serve in the military until a rule change in 2000
- Campaigner Peter Tatchell said thousands of people could have been sacked
- It comes weeks after veteran Joe Ousalice claimed he was forced to leave Navy
Campaigners have called on the government to compensate more than 150 people who claim they were thrown out of the armed forces because of their sexuality.
Gay people were not allowed to serve in the military until a rule change in 2000.
Now, prominent LGBT+ campaigner Peter Tatchell told The Independent that thousands of people could have been sacked for their sexuality, and the MOD should contact them all to offer compensation.
He said: ‘The MoD should be contacting all those people to advise them that they are eligible for compensation.
A Freedom of Information request received by the publication discovered that overall 159 claims have been made for compensation to the MOD, with some rejected and others withdrawn
‘In the 1980s, when I was researching military dismissals, the number sacked for their sexuality was between 100 and 300 annually.’
A Freedom of Information request received by the publication discovered that overall 159 claims have been made for compensation to the MOD, with some rejected and others withdrawn.
An MoD spokesperson told The Independent: ‘We are aware of fewer than 200 cases in which individuals may have been dismissed on the grounds of their sexuality, although we accept that there may be cases that aren’t known about.’
Clare Collier, advocacy director at the Liberty campaign group, said: ‘Many people suffered horribly under officially sanctioned discrimination and persecution as a result of the ban on LGBT+ people in the armed forces.
‘The MoD has been far too slow to offer proper apologies and recompense for their suffering. Ministers should be doing all they can to put this right.’
It comes just weeks after Falklands veteran Joe Ousalice claimed he was forced to leave the Royal Navy because of his sexuality, and even had his medal confiscated when he was discharged for revealing his bisexuality during a court martial in 1993.
Mr Ousalice was in the Navy for 18 years, working as a radio operator in the Falklands War, the Middle East as well as completing six tours of Northern Ireland.
He earned a Long Service and Good Conduct medal and three good conduct badges during his service.
At the 1993 hearing he was cleared of accusations that he had had been in bed with another sailor.
The Ministry of Defence has now said he was ‘treated in a way that would not be acceptable today’ and plans to give the medal back to him in person.
MoD officials have apologised, adding in a statement: ‘We accept our policy in respect of serving homosexuals in the military was wrong, discriminatory and unjust to the individuals involved.’