Veteran abused for being gay seeks £50k MoD payout
Georgia Ponciain Rottingdean
BBC
A seriously ill veteran who says he was humiliated, interrogated, and threatened with prison for being gay during his military service claims he has been refused financial reparations from the government.
Michael Pitchford, 78, from Rottingdean, claims he was pressurised into paying £250 to finish his army contract early, so does not qualify for a Dismissed and Discharged Payment of £50,000.
Homosexuality was decriminalised in the UK in 1967 but a ban continued in the armed forces until 2000.
An MoD spokesperson said: “We recognise that those who felt pressured to resign, suffered unacceptable experiences and therefore the scheme was expanded to include an additional Impact Payment which we encourage those veterans to apply for.”
The MoD added that it “deeply regrets” the “wholly unacceptable” treatment of LGBT serving personnel, pledging its commitment to “righting these wrongs”.
Pitchford signed on for nine years with the Royal Electrical and Mechanical Engineers.
Having initially suppressed his sexuality, in 1971, at the age of 23, he started having relationships with men.
He said he struggled with the “turmoil” of living a double life, and faced with another three years of service, “couldn’t do it”.
‘Harrowing interrogation’
Pitchford said he unsuccessfully tried to leave the army twice, before telling a forces doctor that he was gay to try to get a medical discharge as a last resort.
He was then formally charged with homosexuality, but said he was not allowed to leave.
He claimed that everyone on the base was told he was gay, and that he had to eat alone and was spat at, as well as being removed from his engineering course.
During this time, Pitchford said he was subject to months of “harrowing” interrogation by officials.
“They were monsters…their questions were horrendous,” he said.
He claims the army also incorrectly told his family that he was working as a male prostitute.
“I lost all my family because of that. And as years went on I buried it deep inside, but the wound never heals.”
He also claims he was threatened with three years in prison unless he gave officials names of people he had had relationships with.
Eventually, Pitchford was told to pay £250 to finish his contract and to leave his base. He thought he was free, but said he was kept on as a military reservist at a pittance.
The LGBT Veterans Independent Review revealed decades of bullying, assaults and expulsions of LGBT servicemen and women – often leaving them without income or pensions.
This review produced the Etherton report, which in turn led to the introduction of the LGBT+ Veterans Financial Recognition scheme.
Under this scheme, those impacted can apply for a LGBT Dismissed or Discharged Payment of £50,000.
An additional amount of up to £20,000 available for those who experienced additional impacts, such as criminal records or abusive questioning and interrogation.
Two veterans have issued a pre-action letter to the MoD, challenging the lawfulness of this scheme, claiming that they have wrongfully denied access to these payments because of their rank.
Pitchford said it was a real blow to be told he was not eligible because he was not “dismissed or discharged”, although he said he was pressured into leaving.
“[By] being rejected, I now feel I’m going through it all over again – the humiliation and abuse that I went through in 1972,” he said.
He is now appealing the decision to reject his reparation claims, but with two brain tumours, heart disease, and prostate cancer, he worries he is running out of time.
The MoD said while it acknowledged the hurt caused to veterans who felt compelled to resign, the Dismissed and Discharged Payment was designed to recognise those who were dishonourably removed from service and were left with exit papers that placed the fault with them.
