Ex-Navy officer fears no justice for gay veterans

A former Royal Navy officer fears LGBT+ veterans who faced mistreatment in the armed forces because of their sexuality will not get the restitution they deserve.

Craig Jones, from Bingley, has been campaigning with his charity Fighting With Pride for compensation and recognition for those who suffered historical wrongs, in an effort which echoes that of Alan Bates in the Post Office Horizon scandal.

Mr Jones realised he was gay just before he started his 19-year-long service in 1989, but hid it due to a ban on homosexuality in the armed forces which did not end until January 2000.

Now he is pushing for the government to ensure there is a parliamentary debate on reparations, which Labour promised while in opposition.

Mr Jones said those who were gay sometimes faced brutal interrogation when their sexuality was discovered, while many others were dismissed from the forces, lost out on job opportunities and were shunned by families and friends.

He said: "The circumstances when compared, particularly to Horizon, are incredibly similar.

"People lost their careers, their homes, they were vilified in their communities, they served prison sentences, and they've lived their lives amidst the ashes of the lives that they had before."

Mr Jones applied to join the Royal Navy when he was 19 and studying economics at Portsmouth University.

His naval career between 1989 and 2008 saw him rise through the ranks to become a lieutenant commander and he was sent to places including the Persian Gulf and Northern Ireland.

However, he recalled how meeting his now-husband Adam at a gay bar in Exeter during the 1990s felt "a lot more courageous than going in to Belfast" at the height of the Troubles.

Mr Jones described the relationship as "very exciting, but also frightening", and said: "Almost instantly, I had a family in my eyes.

"We were an inseparable couple but, unfortunately, I had an Achilles' heel, and if anybody knew that, I'd be arrested and imprisoned."

The day before the gay ban ended, Mr Jones decoded a message to the ship he was serving on to signal it would be lifted.

He believes he is the first person to have come out to his superiors, having done so to his commanding officer when he passed along the message.

In the mid-2000s, Mr Jones began campaigning for all Navy, Army and RAF personnel to be allowed to march in full uniform at London's Pride parade, as well as setting up support networks for LGBT personnel.

After working for Barclays and setting up his own business, Mr Jones then started his work on redressing the gay ban's impact on veterans who have faced stigma and felt like they could not be their true selves.

Fighting With Pride was set up in 2020, with Mr Jones now working as campaign director of the charity.

A Ministry of Defence spokesperson said the government was "fully committed to ensuring this issue receives parliamentary scrutiny".

They added: "We have already implemented 32 of the 49 recommendations from the LGBT veterans review and we are working with experts across government to establish an appropriate financial redress scheme and will provide more details later this year."

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