Another step towards equality was taken today when Ed Miliband committed a Labour government to introducing ‘Turing’s Law’ to extend the right to a posthumous pardon to other gay men persecuted under the same historic indecency laws as the Bletchley Park codebreaker. As Ed stated: ‘What was right for Alan Turing’s family should be right for other families as well.’
It is right that Alan Turing received a royal pardon for how he was treated by the law. But the lines became blurred between whether this was a pardon for a national hero because of his achievements or whether it was about righting a historic wrong. But this was never just about Alan Turing the code breaker. An estimated 49,000 other men were convicted under the same gross indecency laws.
Alan Turing was just one of many thousands of gay men who were wronged by prejudice and homophobic laws that have rightly been wiped off the statute book. Labour’s announcement should be seen a victory for justice and the latest success for LGBT campaigners. But these changes do not happen by accident. It took the bravery and perseverance of LGBT campaigners over many years to undermine the foundations of bigotry by the simple act of being out.
Writing in 2009, then prime minister Gordon Brown made an apology to Turing with the powerful words that set the tone for the subsequent campaign for a pardon. Brown said: ‘It is no exaggeration to say that, without his outstanding contribution, the history of the second world war could have been very different …The debt of gratitude he is owed makes it all the more horrifying, therefore, that he was treated so inhumanely.’ An apology for a hero was the starting point for this campaign, not its end.
Growing up in Milton Keynes, we knew nothing about Bletchley Park or its history. Only in recent years has the amazing story of codebreakers become more widely known. My mum remembers sharing her home with workers at Bletchley Park during the war, but nothing was said. Gay teenagers of my generation in Milton Keynes did not have a homegrown role model to look to. And what secrecy did not keep away from us the fear of the Tories’ Section 28 within the classroom.
The renaissance of Bletchley Park and Turing are intertwined. Our love of history and desire for heroes makes Turing’s life both uplifting and tragic. The incredible dedication of historians, mathematicians and campaigners over the last two decades has placed Bletchley Park onto the international stage. The Imitation Game has further cemented the standing of Turing as a national icon.
But the campaign did not stop with one pardon. It stepped up a gear in parliament and with campaigners. Nearly 600,000 people have signed the online petition backing a pardon. Today’s announcement raises the bar on what government can achieve when it listens to campaigners and puts it mind to it. The new legislation will allow the family and friends of deceased men to apply to the Home Office to quash convictions under the historic ‘gross indecency’ law for consensual same-sex relationships.
The announcement shows Labour’s leader at his best. Ed has always been a champion on equality and this latest news builds on his commitment to extend equality and opportunities. In changing the law, it will open up peace of mind and justice for the victims of these historic laws and their families. It will also send out an important signal about the kind of society we want to be, one that is more equal and prepared to acknowledge our own history.
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Andrew Pakes is Labour’s parliamentary candidate for Milton Keynes South. He tweets @andrew4mk
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The only thing I can and like to say here is:
That sadly not all battles have been won and even in those times one needs to be careful.
It’s slowly getting better and easier to live as gay, lesbian or transgender.
But Homophobia MUST STOP!
Only question is the how…
The ‘how’ is simple — re-edit all man-made scriptures and theological writings for the last c.3000 years from which man-made Eastern & Western Laws originate.
You can’t litigate human nature being what it is. There is no right or wrong with Nature.
The human-made Laws are in place to protect innocents of all genders and sensibilities.
Sometimes we get it right. This is one occasion the Law works for Humankind in toto.
Shame the party did nothing while it was in Government for all those years…. Suggests the treatment of a man who did so much for us along with others is being used as little more than an election tool which, if true, is something the party should be thoroughly ashamed of…
It is not just that Alan Turing was prosecuted under the law, but the total failure of all those who knew what contribution he had made at Bletchley Park, and there must be dozens of them, politicians (Churchill was PM at the time), MI6, Army, senior policemen, all of whom failed to risk their own positions to save an unknown hero. I feel convinced that even one phone call could have saved this man.
We had some ground breaking archivements during the Blair years in regard to LGBT equality and credit to Tony Blairs premiership for those archivements –for examaple repeal of section 28, equal age of consent and adoption rights to name just a few. Yes we could have done more including a pardon for Turing and the other gay men peresecuted and crimnalised under the droconian laws. I am delighted Ed has given this pledge.