The move by the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office to say sorry came after GCHQ issued a public apology in 2016 for its “horrifying” treatment of homosexual spies such as Alan Turing, who were hounded out of the service. He was blackmailed into passing secrets to the KGB and consequently jailed for 18 years in 1962. It was a fear fuelled by spy scandals such as the case of John Vassall, a clerk at the British Embassy in Moscow who was caught in a gay honey trap sprung by the Soviets. The policy prior to that had been based on a suggestion that gay and lesbian staff could be more vulnerable to blackmail due to their sexuality, potentially posing a security risk. The public apology came 30 years after the ban on LGBT staff was officially lifted in July 1991.
Sir Philip Barton, the most senior civil servant at the department, admitted on Monday that it was a “misguided” approach that had deprived Britain of some of its “brightest and best talent”. The Foreign Office has issued a formal apology for its historical discrimination against LGBT staff, including the refusal to employ gay diplomats. Our ban on gay diplomats was wrong, admits Foreign Officeįormal apology over policy that was based on a suggestion that gay and lesbian staff could be vulnerable to blackmail due to their sexuality
