Off the wire
• China's natural disasters kill 1,317 Jan.-Sept.  • Myanmar closes border trade point with Bangladesh following armed clashes  • Foreign exchange rates in Hong Kong  • 2nd LD-Writethru-China Focus: Xi, Duterte agree on full improvement of ties  • China, Germany launch joint medical aid exercise  • Lebanon arrests 8 terror suspects  • Egypt helps mediate Aleppo evacuation: official  • Typhoon Sarika affects 3 mln people in Hainan  • Gold price closes higher in Hong Kong  • Roundup: HK stocks close 0.30 pct higher  
You are here: 　 Home

Britain to pardon thousands of homosexual men under "Turing Law" move

Xinhua, October 20, 2016 Adjust font size:

The British government announced Thursday that thousands of gay and bisexual men convicted of now abolished sexual offences are to be posthumously pardoned.

Justice Minister Sam Gyimah said the measure will see those convicted for consensual same-sex relationships before the change in the law formally pardoned.

Gyimah announced the government is to implement the change through an amendment to a Policing and Crime Bill.

Anyone still living who has been convicted of now abolished homosexual offences can already apply through the British Home Office to have their names cleared through the disregard process. This removes any mention of an offence from criminal record checks.

The Ministry of Justice in London said: "In an important step, the government also announced today (Oct. 20, 2016) it will introduce a new statutory pardon for the living in cases where offences have been successfully deleted through the disregard process."

Gyimah said: "It is hugely important that we pardon people convicted of historical sexual offences who would be innocent of any crime today. Through pardons and the existing disregard process we will meet our manifesto commitment to put right these wrongs."

The announcement will meet a government commitment to build on the case of Alan Turing, the famous British Enigma codebreaker. Turing committed suicide following his conviction for gross indecency. A petition to offer a pardon to clear Turing won widespread support and he was posthumously pardoned by Queen Elizabeth in 2013.

Wartime Prime Minister Winston Churchill said Turing's breaking of the German code in World War II had shortened the duration of the war.

The government also said Thursday it will not support a separate move, to be discussed in the House of Commons Friday brought forward by the MP John Nicolson. Nicolson's Bill proposes a blanket pardon for the living without the need to go through the disregard process.

A spokesman for the Ministry of Justice said: "This could lead, in some cases, to people claiming to be cleared of offences that are still crimes, including sex with a minor and non-consensual sexual activity."

Gyimah said: "I understand and support the intentions behind Mr Nicolson's Bill, however I worry that he has not fully thought through the consequences. A blanket pardon, without the detailed investigations carried out by the Home Office under the disregard process, could see people guilty of an offence which is still a crime today claiming to be pardoned."

Not all men convicted of crimes under the now abolished law are happy to receive a pardon. Instead they want an official apology for being convicted in the first place. Endit