Ministers must ensure all LGBT veterans who suffered historical mistreatment in the armed forces get compensation swiftly, MPs are to warn in a parliamentary debate.
A group of MPs will push for the redress scheme for veterans who suffered under the so-called “gay ban” to be rolled out as quickly as possible.
LGBT people in the military were abused, assaulted, and dishonourably discharged without pay, and went on to suffer lifelong consequences when their sexuality was discovered in the pre-2000 era.
The £75 million redress scheme set up in December offers payments of up to £70,000 to each veteran to “acknowledge the historic wrongs they experienced in the armed forces”.
Some 84 veterans out of the 1,300 who have applied for the financial payment have been paid so far, according to Fighting with Pride, a charity advocating for the veterans.
While the charity has welcomed efforts by the Government to roll out the scheme, it is warning many veterans are now ageing and in poor health and are in need of financial help in their later years.
Liberal Democrat MP Jess Brown-Fuller will lead the Wednesday afternoon Westminster Hall debate on the financial redress scheme for the veterans.
Ahead of the debate the Chichester MP described the matter as a “crucial issue”.
She added: “Members of the armed forces who put their life on the line for our country were dismissed in huge numbers for simply daring to be who they are.
“Many faced verbal and physical abuse that stripped veterans not only of their career but of their dignity.
“It’s a scandal that the compensation they are rightly owed has been so delayed.”
Peter Gibson, chief executive of Fighting With Pride, said: “It’s vital affected veterans get swift justice.
“Many are in their 60s, 70s and 80s – many with poor mental and physical health. Put simply, they don’t have time to wait.
“The debate in Westminster serves as an important reminder to Government to speed up consideration of the applications for financial reparations and improve communications.
“Every submission details someone’s painful memories of being shunned by the military family; of bullying, intimidation and in some cases criminal convictions and prison.”
Mr Gibson met this week with veterans minister Al Carns, where he said the charity “passed on the real experiences and frustrations of veterans”.
A series of recommendations to improve the redress scheme were “received warmly”, he added.
“We’re confident – and determined – we’ll see improvements which finally deliver the justice impacted veterans deserve,” Mr Gibson said.
A Ministry of Defence spokesperson said: “We deeply regret the treatment of LGBT serving personnel between 1967 and 2000 which was wholly unacceptable.
“We understand veterans’ frustrations with application processing times. The Financial Recognition Scheme is committed to progressing applications as quickly as possible.
“While it is a complex process, involving co-ordination across multiple areas of defence to gather supporting evidence, our priority is to ensure each application is handled fairly and reasonably.
“We encourage anyone who may think that they’re affected to contact us so that we can see if we can help, and the Home Office also runs the disregards and pardons scheme for people wishing to have historic offences wiped from their records.”
