Support Our Work Mailing list About / Contact

UK: Leaked report on gay ban

01 January 1996

Support our work: become a Friend of Statewatch from as little as £1/€1 per month.

The Ministry of Defence (MoD) is preparing to scrap the ban on lesbians and gay men serving in the UK armed forces. According to a leaked report from a MoD committee the government has concluded that the existing policy should be replaced with a "don't ask, don't tell" approach similar to the one already adopted by the US armed forces. In practice this would mean an individual's sexuality would no longer as such be grounds for dismissal. Investigations into a person's sexuality would also be prohibited. However same-sex relationships between serving army personnel would still be banned, leaving a disparity between homosexual and heterosexual service men and women. According to the Sunday Telegraph, sources close to the committee had expressed a desire to "take the heat out of the issue" whilst keeping the military on board. The proposed compromise is however unlikely to satisfy either side. The campaigning group Stonewall denounced the compromise as a "license for homophobia" whilst senior army officials have made clear their opposition to any dilution of the current position. The MoD have denied any knowledge of the report calling its conclusions "purely speculative". Pink Paper, 5.1.96.

Our work is only possible with your support.
Become a Friend of Statewatch from as little as £1/€1 per month.

 Previous article

Policing - in brief (9)

Next article 

Netherlands: Human rights research centre

 

Spotted an error? If you've spotted a problem with this page, just click once to let us know.

Report error

Statewatch does not have a corporate view, nor does it seek to create one, the views expressed are those of the author. Statewatch is not responsible for the content of external websites and inclusion of a link does not constitute an endorsement. Registered UK charity number: 1154784. Registered UK company number: 08480724. Registered company name: The Libertarian Research & Education Trust. Registered office: MayDay Rooms, 88 Fleet Street, London EC4Y 1DH. © Statewatch ISSN 1756-851X. Personal usage as private individuals "fair dealing" is allowed. We also welcome links to material on our site. Usage by those working for organisations is allowed only if the organisation holds an appropriate licence from the relevant reprographic rights organisation (eg: Copyright Licensing Agency in the UK) with such usage being subject to the terms and conditions of that licence and to local copyright law.

About | Contact | Privacy Policy