A GENIUS who played a key role in World War Two is today granted a royal
pardon 60 years after his death — for being gay.
Legendary Enigma code-breaker Alan Turing killed himself in shame after a
homosexuality conviction in the 1950s.
But he is being officially pardoned by the Queen and his offence will be
scrubbed from the books after ministers decided it now seemed “unjust and
discriminatory”.
The formal clearing of his name by a Royal Prerogative of Mercy follows a long
campaign led by scientist Stephen Hawking, MPs and peers.
During the war mathematician Turing worked at code and intelligence HQ
Bletchley Park, Bucks.
He led boffins’ attempts to crack the Enigma Code used by Nazi U-Boats,
shortening the war by two years.
And afterwards he helped design the first computers, giving him the title of
“the father of modern computing”.
But he was convicted of gross indecency in 1952 after his home was burgled by
a friend of his male lover.
He was stripped of his security clearance and had to give up work as a spy at
GCHQ.
His cruel sentence was chemical castration by taking female hormones — an
alternative to jail.
He took cyanide and died in 1954 aged 41.
Explaining the pardon decision, Justice Secretary Chris Grayling said: “Dr
Turing was an exceptional man whose later life was overshadowed by his
conviction.
“He deserves to be remembered for his contribution to the war and his legacy
to science. A pardon from the Queen is a fitting tribute.”
PM David Cameron described Turing as “a remarkable man”.
Gay rights campaigner Peter Tatchell called for pardons for thousands of other
men who were convicted before homosexuality was decriminalised in 1967.