£30M COMPO BOOST

LGBT veterans to receive faster payouts over military gay ban

- BY ALEXANDER BROWN Assistant Political Editor

MORE than £30million has been paid to 949 LGBT veterans as the government speeds up compensation for those affected by the former ban on gay people in the armed forces.

The Ministry of Defence has doubled its payments team and brought in automated processing to accelerate applications to the LGBT Financial Recognition Scheme, which closes next December.

Thousands were dismissed from the Army, Royal Navy and RAF under the ban, which remained in place until 2000 - long after homosexuality was decriminalised for the rest of British society in 1967.

Many of them were bullied, outed against their will or even imprisoned because of their sexuality.