Theresa May will pardon thousands of gay men convicted of ‘gross indecency’ by introducing ‘Alan Turing law’
Law will effectively act as an apology for the 49,000 men who were convicted under homosexuality laws until it was decriminalised in 1967.
THERESA May’s government is set to pardon thousands of gay men convicted under historic gross indecency crimes.
The “Alan Turing law” will effectively act as an apology and the Ministry of Justice is now looking at how it can push the legislation through.
A Government spokesman told : “This government is committed to introducing posthumous pardons for people with certain historical sexual offence convictions who would be innocent of any crime now.
“We will bring forward our proposals in due course.”
Alan Turing, who was portrayed by Benedict Cumberbatch in the 2014 film The Imitation Game, was the Enigma code breaker responsible for decrypting Nazi messages.
In 2013 he was granted a posthumous royal pardon - 61 years after he had been charged over homosexual activity.
His work cracking the Enigma code is said to have shortened World War Two by two to four years but he lost his job with the secret service after being convicted for gross indecency.
The pioneering mathematician was chemically castrated by a series of injections of female hormones.
He took his own life two years later, in 1954.
It is estimated 49,000 other men were convicted under similar laws until homosexuality was deemed to not be illegal - in 1967.
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Mr Turing’s great-niece Rachel Barnes told The Independent she had been “disappointed that there had been no progress” since she and others had launched a petition last year to get her great-uncle’s pardon extended to all men convicted under the historic laws.
She said: “I will give my backing towards any progress.
“It’s something the family of Alan Turing have always, always backed and we really do want justice for everybody who was affected by the anti-gay laws.
“I am very pleased to hear the current administration will give it their backing."
Campaigners and Mr Turing’s family delivered the petition to Downing Street before last year’s general election.
And the plan for an “Alan Turing law” was then outlined in the 2015 Conservative manifesto: “We will build on the posthumous pardon of Enigma codebreaker Alan Turing, who committed suicide following his conviction for gross indecency, with a broader measure to lift the convictions of this nature.
“Thousands of British men still suffer from similar historic charges, even though they would be completely innocent of any crime today.
"Many others are dead and cannot correct this injustice themselves through the legal process we have introduced while in government.
“So we will introduce a new law that will pardon those people, and right these wrongs.”
Back in April the Home Affairs Select Committee gave equalities minister Caroline Dinenage clearance to draft a hand-out bill.
This hand-out bill would pardon deceased men convicted of offences relating to consensual sexual activity between men over the current age of consent.
But this bill was not picked up.