'Alan Turing law' brings posthumous pardons for thousands of convicted gay men

Calls for wider action emerged after wartime code-breaker Alan Turing was given a posthumous royal pardon in 2013. Photo / AP

Thousands of gay and bisexual men convicted of abolished sexual offences are to be posthumously pardoned.

The "hugely important" move will see those convicted for consensual same-sex relationships before laws were changed formally pardoned.

Calls for wider action emerged after Second World War code-breaker Alan Turing was given a posthumous royal pardon in 2013 over a conviction in 1952 for gross indecency with a 19-year-old man.

Turing was chemically castrated and died two years later from cyanide poisoning in an apparent suicide - though there have been suggestions his death was an accident.

Announcing the new plan, Justice Minister Sam Gyimah said the Government would seek to implement the change through an amendment to the Policing and Crime Bill.

Anyone living who has been convicted of the now abolished offences can currently apply through the Home Office to have their names cleared through the disregard process. This removes any mention of an offence from criminal record checks.

Alan Turing died two years after being chemically castrated from cyanide poisoning in an apparent suicide.

In another step, the Government is also announcing that it will introduce a new statutory pardon for the living in cases where offences have been successfully deleted through the disregard process.

Gyimah said: "It is hugely important that we pardon people convicted of historical sexual offences who would be innocent of any crime today.

"Through pardons and the existing disregard process we will meet our manifesto commitment to put right these wrongs."

The Government said it will not support a separate Private Member's Bill on the subject, which is set to be debated on Friday and proposes a blanket pardon for the living without the need to go through the disregard process.

Gyimah said: "A blanket pardon, without the detailed investigations carried out by the Home Office under the disregard process, could see people guilty of an offence which is still a crime today claiming to be pardoned.

"This would cause an extraordinary and unnecessary amount of distress to victims and for this reason the Government cannot support the Private Member's Bill. Our way forward will be both faster and fairer."