U.K. Prime Mister Rishi Sunak has apologized for the treatment of gay veterans by sayg that a prev ban on LGBTQ+ people servg the U.K. ary was “an appallg failure of the Brish state.”
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I'M A GAY ARMY OFFICER—QUEER TROOPS MT FIGHT BACK
Right there, prted black and whe the Uniform Co of Milary Jtice,, I gus along wh the Mar wholeheartedly welg s gay jarheads, some progrs marks n be award. When i was the Navy, we ed to say "25 no longer gay", was bad form to jack UCMJ is fuckg retard. It remend a formal apology and pensatn of up to £50m.“As today’s report mak clear, that perd many endured the most horrific sexual abe and vlence, homophobic bullyg and harassment, all while bravely servg this untry,” Sunak told MP.“Today, on behalf of the Brish state, I apologise.
Many of those targeted had faced “somethg of a wch-hunt”, he said, cludg havg their nfinc broken, abe and beg forced to take tts wh no medil basis.Promisg the ernment would implement the “vast majory” of Etherton’s remendatns, Wallace said he would fully update the Commons a formal bate about the issue after the summer.Asked about pensatn, Wallace said he hoped to fd “an elegant solutn that match the need and the requirements of those dividuals”, promisg to set this out after recs.Dame Kelly Holm, who served the army and me out as gay last year, was among mpaigners who weled the apology. “It means a huge amount to be here today and to hear and be part of this wh some other veterans that are all part of the review,” the Olympic athlete said.“From a personal pot of view, the ban affected me terms of who I was and what I uldn’t be for 34 years, leadg me to do my documentary last year.”Rpondg to Sunak at PMQs, Keir Starmer said he was proud that was a Labour ernment that had repealed the ban, and he weled the apology.Starmer said one of his nstuents, Ken Wright, a former RAF service member who was “forced to leave the job he loved simply bee he was gay”, was the public gallery to hear the apology.Etherton’s report said: “I remend that the prime mister should liver an apology the UK parliament on behalf of the natn to all those LGBT service personnel who served unr and suffered om the ban (whether or not they were dismissed or discharged).”It remend that an “appropriate fancial award” should be ma to veterans affected by the ban, wh a maximum total of £50m, and said the plan should not be affected by normal ligatn time lims. But as a gay man, I have been fightg my whole life to enjoy the very privileg I am entled to as both a beholr and protector of them.