Welcome to our Update for December 2024.
In the House of Commons on 12th December, we finally witnessed the debate on reparations, a year on within a day since they were accepted in full in the same House. The focus was on the financial reparation, with 42 of the 49 Reparations Recommendations in Lord Etherton’s LGBT Veterans Independent Review final report, now in place. Two of those outstanding are non-financial reparations for the Ministry of Defence to implement and five are being addressed by the national health service.
From the Strangers’ Gallery, veterans invited by their constituency Members of Parliament to attend listened for nearly 3 hours, along with so many more of us watching live on Parliament TV or through catchup, as MPs made statements, asked questions and raised the stories of their constituents; stories that you told them in the course of Operation Crescendo, led so brilliantly by Craig, as our Head of Campaign. With your amazing contributions, the support of so many allies, including our incredible coalition of partner charities and organisations, cross-party members of parliament, and more, from all across the UK, the Government listened, and raised the cap from £50M to £75M. A figure far lower than we wanted to see, but a 50% increase in the final months is non-the-less a significant increase and very welcome addition.
The full debate can be accessed by following the link in our article below. Secretary of State for Defence John Healey said “On behalf of the Government, I want to apologise without reservation for the pain and injustice caused during this dark chapter of our armed forces’ history. The treatment of LGBT veterans was a moral stain on our nation..” .
The Shadow Secretary of State for Defence James Cartlidge added. “As a House, I know we speak with one voice in saying to everyone affected: you are as much a veteran as anyone else who served this country.”
The Minister for Veterans and People Al Carns also apologised to all affected by the ban, calling it ‘an inflaming injustice that has burnt for the past 5 decades’. In summary he added, “Courage is a decision, not a reaction.” “Few have been so courageous as those watching this debate today. To stand up, to struggle to your feet when everyone is trying to push you down, and to shout when everyone is trying to silence you—that is an active decision, and perhaps the most courageous decision of all. They should stand proud from here on out.”
In a message almost drowned out by the heartfelt debate, we were also pleased to hear additional measures taken to deliver reparations for veterans who served pre-1967 too, including to have administrative discharges qualified, reduced rank restored, and Certificates of Service re-issued, with former officers also able to apply to have Service details published in The Gazette, as part of the official record.
An overview of the Government’s Financial Reparation details can be found on our website, see our newsletter notice below for more information, but we urge anyone applying to not rush into submitting an application before you have had the opportunity and time to gather everything you need to make the strongest possible application.
In the words of Ed, Chair of FWP:
‘Like so many of us, I still find it hard to talk about the pain of the time in my life when I faced the horrors of investigation, of forced outing, of broken family ties, of humiliation and disgrace. Like so many of us, my campaigning in the 1990s and 2000s was probably a way of masking much of that pain and embarrassment, and finding a way to be a part again of a community – our community – but for most of my life that has in reality been a sort of anti-veterans community. We were somehow other, we were not (or at least we didn’t feel) welcome in Legion clubs or regimental associations or at dinners marking the decades since we passed out, or since we served on a particular operation.
For some, that relationship has changed over time for the better in remarkable ways, but for others, the raw emotions of what happened are just too strong be smiled away over a pint in small town veterans’ club or sitting next to a heterosexual veteran you don’t know at a jolly service dinner in black tie or a rented ball gown.
The truth is, that no amount of cash or badges or warmly-worded letters are ever going to make that all better, or to somehow wash away the years of damage, of lost jobs and homes, of criminal records, or of having served time, or of being ritually humiliated in front of erstwhile colleagues.
Having said all that, the reality is, that 25 years after the ban was lifted, 20 years after the court cases were largely settled, fifteen years after the services started marching at Pride in uniform, ten years after our first LGBT veterans ball, and five years after the government first apologised in person to us at a widely-reported reception in parliament, we have moved on to the next stage of our lives.
Fighting With Pride has had a remarkable journey, with its passionate founders at the helm: it took us from having no voice, no visibility, and no real record of what we endured, through to where we are today.
Thanks to our charity, we have seen Lord Etherton conduct a powerful review into what happened.
Thanks to our charity, we now have 400 organisations pledging to recognise and support LGBT+ veterans, and we have strong working relationships with the RBL, with SSAFA, with Help For Heroes, with Combat Stress and with all the service charities.
Thanks to our charity, we now have access for our community to a fund of £75M that nobody ever imagined would emerge: a fund that has launched and is ready to be distributed to people affected by the ban.
Do I wish we had more? Of course I do.
Do I wish that there were funds available to match the real losses and pain that people suffered? Of course I do.
Have I shared moments of disappointment at the final offer? Perhaps.
But in my heart, I know that five years ago, there was no pot of money for us. In my heart, I know that the government had no legal obligation to do any of this.
I know that Lord Etherton recommended a fund of £50M, and that hundreds of us have lobbied and campaigned to deliver more. I think it is astounding that in this financial climate that we have boosted the fund by £25M, and that was worth every letter, every phone call, and every email.
From the inside, with Craig and the team, I have watched the single service leaders and ministers (before and after the election) go to bat for us. I don’t underestimate how hard it was in this economic climate for Al Carns, after just days as a new MP, to choose our fight as one of his battles.
As we approach the anniversary of our biggest success in 2000, I hope that whatever your emotional response to the announcement this week, you will try to find the strength that I am looking for, to acknowledge that this is the end of a very long road, and that taken in the round, the reparations process has been quite unlike anything we could ever have imagined. We are, all of us, now real veterans, embraced by the MOD, and embraced by veterans’ organisations. I hope the money helps, after all, it is not insignificant, but most of all, I hope that we can all come together in the New Year and focus on what our community does best, which is to support each other in love and fellowship.’ Ed.
As we sign off this newsletter, our final one of 2024, we know this time of the year can become even more difficult and lonely for some. We aren’t unfortunately resourced for out of normal working hours support. We have included some incredible 24/7 resources below who we know are there to listen or to help any time of the day, as well as provide other resources, if you need support please reach out.
We look forward to catching up soon, but from all of us at FWP to all of you, we send all our Very Best Wishes for Christmas and the New Year!
Caroline and Ed
You can read the full FWP Newsletter HERE.
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