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UK: MoD to contest gay soldiers case

01 July 1997

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The Ministry of Defence is still committed to contesting the case brought by Terry Perkins, a former navy man sacked because of his sexuality. This is despite a renewed commitment by Defence Secretary George Robertson to allow a free vote in the House of Commons on the issue.

A spokesman for the MoD told the Pink Paper:"There is nothing anomalous in us holding either position. There is an Armed Forces bill in every parliamentary session and in Perkins case we have been asked to respond and we will."

The growing contradiction between the position of the Secretary of State for defence and that of his department was further accentuated by an interview given by Robertson to the Daily Telegraph where he announced a commitment to a free vote on the gay ban in the military in the next five years. When probed on this issue he stated: "It bothers me more that we are judged to be unfair, prejudiced and unreasonable by the public....than it does whether we win or lose fights in the European Court. A very tough message is going down the line that sexual, racial and other harassment will not be tolerated."

The MoD has however denied that this new commitment to equal opportunities in the armed forces had anything to do with the ban on gays in the military: "What George Robertson has pledged to do is extend equal opportunities to all who work in the military. Gays don't work in the military, because we sack them as soon as we discover them."

Pink Paper 1.8.97

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