As many as 20,000 armed forces personnel were jailed, dismissed or outed against their will before the rule on allowing LGBT people to serve in the military was lifted in 2000
Veterans who were banned from serving in the armed forces because of their sexuality have accused the government of “dragging its feet” on paying compensation.
As many as 20,000 armed forces personnel were jailed, dismissed or outed against their will before the rule on service was lifted in 2000. LGBT veterans are eligible for up to £70,000 in compensation for the appalling treatment from a £75million fund announced in December.
At the time, Defence Secretary John Healey described the wrongs faced by gay members of the armed forces as a “moral stain on our nation”.
Former personnel who were dismissed or discharged because of their sexual orientation can get a £50,000 payout. And additional payments of up to £20,000 are available for veterans and serving personnel who were negatively affected by the ban from 1967 to 2000.
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But so far, only 24 compensation claims out of nearly 1,000 lodged have been approved, according to the charity Fighting with Pride. It is understood that eight terminally ill veterans were granted the first dismissal payments in April.
But veterans were left furious when they learned the independent panel assessed just five claims for the impact payment when it met for the first time this week – and will only meet weekly.
Fighting with Pride has written to Lord Paddick, who is chairing the independent panel, and a top Ministry of Defence official following a meeting on Wednesday which left veterans “bitterly disappointed”.
Chief Executive Peter Gibson said: “Many of these veterans are in their 60s, 70s and 80s. They are simply just furious. Every time they come along they tell their heart-breaking stories about how they were bullied, intimidated, humiliated and lost the careers they loved for just being gay.”
He added: “They’ve fought for so many years to get justice but it feels like the government is dragging its feet. They want the justice they were promised, and these delays are just not good enough.”
Kevin Bazeley, 57, was kicked out of the RAF in 1995 because of his sexuality. He said the process had been “a shambles” – and veterans fear they could wait years for compensation.
Kevin, from Worcester, said: “The whole thing has been so traumatic for many of us. To complete the application, we’ve had to reopen wounds that are deeply damaging and triggering for us. We’ve had to dredge up memories of our darkest hours.”
He said one veteran was at risk of losing their home while waiting for a payout while another suffered a mini stroke, which doctors blamed partially on stress.
He said: “This is dragging out all that pain for veterans. We thought we were almost there when we could start applying for the FRS scheme in December. But we’re still here six months later waiting.”
Rishi Sunak apologised on behalf of the government for the historic treatment of LGBT veterans in 2023, following a review by Lord Etherton. The then-PM said the ban on allowing gay people to serve in the military was “an appalling failure” of the British state.
A Ministry of Defence spokesperson said: “We recognise the need to work quickly through the over 1000 applications for financial recognition we’ve received.
“The process of working through the applications requires checking a number of information sources and historical records, however we understand the need for timeliness in delivering this important scheme. We are working closely with stakeholder groups and applicants can receive updates on their progress from the team via gov.uk.”
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