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Government Keeps "Gay Register"

01 March 1995

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The British Government has admitted that it keeps records on the sexuality of people serving in the armed forces and that it passes on those details to the police. The government made this admission in a written answer following the case of a former seaman who applied to work in a rape crisis centre.

After a routine check on his background the former seaman was turned down for the job. He later discovered that this was due to his dismissal from the Navy for homosexuality 17 years earlier.

The Armed Forces Minister ,Nicholas Soames confirmed to David Clark, Labour's Shadow Defence Secretary, that information on current and former Armed Forces personnel was available to the civilian police. He is quoted as saying that police could receive and ask for information from records kept by the military to assist their investigations. The revelations have been condemned by Lesbian and Gay groups and civil liberties organisations.

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