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Andy Burnham: men convicted for being gay should get automatic pardons Andy Burnham: men convicted for being gay should get automatic pardons
(34 minutes later)
An automatic legal pardon should be given to all men convicted under historical homosexuality laws without the need for families or individuals to apply to the government, the Labour leadership contender Andy Burnham has proposed. An automatic legal pardon should be given to all men convicted under historical homosexuality laws without the need for families or individuals to apply to the government, the Labour leadership contender Andy Burnham has proposed. His pledge, following consultation with Sir Keir Starmer, the former director of public prosecutions and current Labour MP, means it would be possible to quash up to 50,000 convictions for acts that would be not be illegal today.
His pledge, following consultation with Sir Keir Starmer, the former director of public prosecutions and current Labour MP, means it would be possible to quash up to 50,000 convictions for acts that would be not be illegal today. Burnham, who currently shares roughly the same number of constituency nominations as Jeremy Corbyn, said he will press prime minister David Cameron to make a relatively simple change to the law, but if he does not do so, it would form part of the first legislative programme of a Burnham-led government. The move comes two years after the royal pardon granted to second world war codebreaker Alan Turing.
Burnham, who currently shares roughly the same number of constituency nominations as Jeremy Corbyn, said he will press prime minister David Cameron to make a relatively simple change to the law but if he does not do so, it would form part of the first legislative programme of a Burnham-led government.
Related: Benedict Cumberbatch: broaden Turing’s pardon to other gay menRelated: Benedict Cumberbatch: broaden Turing’s pardon to other gay men
The move comes two years after the royal pardon granted to second world war codebreaker Alan Turing. Burnham will call for all men to receive the same honour regardless of their status or living family. Burnham will call for all men to receive the same honour regardless of their status or living family. The current law requires living individuals to apply to the Home Office for their conviction to be overturned. In March this year, Ed Miliband announced that if he won the general election, a Labour government would review how to apply this rule to family and friends who proactively apply to have records erased.
The current law requires living individuals to apply to the Home Office for their conviction to be overturned. In March this year, Ed Miliband announced that if he won the general election, a Labour government would review how to apply this rule to family and friends who proactively apply to have records erased. Turing, whose work cracking the German military codes was vital to the British war effort, was convicted in 1952 of gross indecency with a 19-year-old man, was chemically castrated, and two years later died from cyanide poisoning in an apparent suicide. He was given a posthumous royal pardon in 2013 and campaigners want the government to pardon all the men convicted under the outdated law.
Turing, whose work cracking the German military codes was vital to the British war effort against Nazi Germany, was convicted in 1952 of gross indecency with a 19-year-old man, was chemically castrated, and two years later died from cyanide poisoning in an apparent suicide. Burnham has received legal advice that a formal statutory pardon through a bill of parliament would be workable and removes the need for applications from descendants and lengthy case-by-case decisions. He said: “Alan Turing made a remarkable contribution to our country, but it is not only national heroes that deserve to have their suffering atoned for. Tens of thousands of men were treated appallingly, and every one of these convictions is equally shameful.
He was given a posthumous royal pardon in 2013 and campaigners want the government to pardon all the men convicted under the outdated law. “I was one of the first Labour frontbenchers to call for equal marriage, and I believe the next frontier is a law to remove this shadow from our national history. It would send a strong message to millions of LGBT individuals around the world, who still live in fear of persecution, and to the governments and national leaders that refuse to recognise equal rights.”
Burnham has received legal advice that a formal statutory pardon through a bill of parliament would be workable and removes the need for applications from descendants and lengthy case-by-case decisions. Starmer said: “Automatic pardons are appropriate in these cases not only to mark the grossly unjust basis of the convictions, but also to send a powerful message to the world about the unacceptability of similar anti-gay laws still in existence.”
Burnham said: “Alan Turing made a remarkable contribution to our country, but it is not only national heroes that deserve to have their suffering atoned for. Tens of thousands of men were treated appallingly and every one of these convictions is equally shameful.
“I was one of the first Labour frontbenchers to call for equal marriage and I believe the next frontier is a law to remove this shadow from our national history.
“It would send a strong message to millions of LGBT individuals around the world, who still live in fear of persecution, and to the Governments and national leaders that refuse to recognise equal rights.”
Starmer said: “Automatic pardons are appropriate in these cases not only to mark the grossly unjust basis of the convictions but also to send a powerful message to the world about the unacceptability of similar anti-gay laws still in existence.”