BRITAIN: PM’s Office Commits To “Alan Turing Act” To Pardon Gay Men Convicted Under Old Indecency Laws

The Independent reports:

Theresa May’s government is committed to introducing an ‘Alan Turing law’ and will, in due course, pardon thousands of gay men convicted under historic gross indecency crimes. Mr Turing, the Enigma code breaker responsible for decrypting Nazi messages, was granted a posthumous royal pardon in 2013 – 61 years after he was charged at the Manchester police station over homosexual activity.

Sources close to the Prime Minister confirmed to The Independent that Ms. May’s government is “committed” to introducing the legislation, which will effectively act as an apology while the Ministry of Justice added they would “now find the right legislative vehicle to push this through”.

“This government is committed to introducing posthumous pardons for people with certain historical sexual offence convictions who would be innocent of any crime now. We will bring forward our proposals in due course,” a government spokesperson added.

Speaking to The Independent, Rachel Barnes, Mr Turing’s great-niece said she had been “disappointed that there had been no progress” since she and others had originally launched a petition in 2015 to extend her great-uncle’s pardon to all men convicted under the historic laws. “I will give my backing towards any progress,” she added.

“It’s something the family of Alan Turing have always, always backed and we really do want justice for everybody who was affected by the anti-gay laws. I am very pleased to hear the current administration will give it their backing.”