Thousands of gay men convicted under old sex offence laws will be pardoned like WWII hero Alan Turing
Around 75,000 gay and bisexual men were convicted under the old Sexual Offences Act, and some 16,000 are still alive today
TENS OF THOUSANDS of gay men convicted under long abolished sex offence laws are to be pardoned like WWII spy hero Alan Turing.
Theresa May has given her full backing to a Lib Dem proposal calling for ‘Turing’s Law’ to be extended to men convicted for homosexual acts before the law was binned in 1967.
The move will be rubber stamped in the Lords tomorrow as peers approve an amendment to the Policing and Crime Bill.
Around 75,000 gay and bisexual men were convicted under the old Sexual Offences Act, and some 16,000 are still alive today.
Two years ago a similar call was rejected by the Government.
The pardon will remove any mention of an offence from criminal record checks.
Justice Minister Sam Gyimah said: “It is hugely important that we pardon people convicted of historical sexual offences who would be innocent of any crime today.
“Through pardons and the existing disregard process we will meet our manifesto commitment to put right these wrongs.”
Lib Dem peer Lord Sharkey said: “This is a momentous day for thousands of families up and down the UK who have been campaigning on this issue for decades.
“I am very grateful for the Government’s support.
“It is a wonderful thing that we have been able to build on the pardon granted to Alan Turing during the Coalition by extending it to thousands of men convicted of sexual offences that existed before homosexuality was decriminalised in 1967 and which would not be crimes today.”
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Under the move, pardons will be automatically granted to 59,000 men who have passed away. Around 16,000 who are still alive will be asked to fill out a “simple form”.
Alan Turing, the World War II Enigma codebreaker, was granted a posthumous Royal pardon by the Queen in December 2013.
The genius credited with helping Britain to beat the Nazis killed himself after receiving a criminal conviction for homosexuality in 1952.
The campaign to pardon him was backed by tens of thousands of people including Professor Stephen Hawking.
Lord Sharkey mounted his bid to gain pardons for 75,000 other men convicted of homosexuality the following year.
He said that while legislation passed in 2012 had given 16,000 of them the right to apply to have their convictions disregarded, 59,000 who were now dead were unable to get redress.
The Government last night said it would not be supporting a rival bid by the SNP which was set to be debated in Parliament on Friday. SNP’s John Nicholson was proposing a blanket pardon for the living without need to go through a formal disregard process.
The Tories said this could lead to people claiming to be cleared of offences that are still crimes – including sex with a minor.