One such person is Ms Riley, whose working and personal life was ripped apart when she told a friend and colleague on the HMS Neptune battleship that she thought she was gay. Leeds University Professor Paul Johnson, a sociologist who helped spearhead the campaign, told The Mirror: 'The main thing is that it rights many great wrongs of the past over many hundreds of years and will bring justice and restitution for many gay people.' The move has been hailed by LGBTQ+ campaigners who have fought for decades to have acts long-since decriminalised erased from people's records.
The Home Secretary has said convictions of consensual gay activity under now-abolished laws will be included in a scheme aimed at “righting the wrongs of the past”. A Navy officer discharged for being gay and a homosexual convicted of chatting to men in an empty public toilet will have their records scrubbed clean following an historic ruling.įormer Wren radio operator first class Emma Riley and Terry Stewart are two of the people to be pardoned under new plans Priti Patel announced on Monday night.
