Late judge Lord Etherton condemns Armed Forces’ ‘overt homophobic’ gay ban in posthumous lecture
Whether the full spirit of his review is honoured, Peter Gibson, CEO of Fighting With Pride, said, now rests with the Ministry of Defence
By Callum Wells
The late Lord Terence Etherton has delivered a devastating verdict on the Armed Forces’s historic ban on gay personnel – a judgment heard publicly for the first time after his death.
In a rare and powerful moment, the former senior judge’s unflinching assessment of the military’s treatment of LGBTQ+ service personnel between 1967 and 2000 was delivered posthumously at a sold-out lecture at the Imperial War Museum in London on Wednesday night.
Lord Etherton, the first gay senior judge in England and Wales, died in May 2025 aged 74. Before his death, he authored the lecture himself, with his words read aloud by actor and peer Lord Michael Cashman. The event was hosted by actor and LGBTQ+ activist Russell Tovey and held in partnership with specialist charity Fighting With Pride.
The audience included Lord Etherton’s husband, Andrew Stone, who also granted permission for images of the judge to be used
Etherton had led a landmark independent review into the mistreatment of LGBTQ+ veterans affected by what he described as an “overt homophobic policy” enforced by the Ministry of Defence for more than three decades.
In the lecture, he detailed “shocking evidence of a culture of homophobia and bullying, blackmail and sexual assaults, abusive investigations into sexual orientation and sexual preference, disgraceful medical examinations, including conversion therapy, peremptory discharges, and appalling consequences in terms of mental health and well-being, homelessness, employment, personal relationships and financial hardships”.
He went on to condemn the “institutionalised homophobia” of the ban, saying it effectively gave military police “a free hand to obsessive and usually abusive, brutal, and bullying investigations”.
The audience included Etherton’s husband, Andrew Stone, who also granted permission for images of the judge to be used.
Etherton also addressed ongoing debate around financial reparations for those affected by the ban. Under the current scheme, dismissed personnel can receive up to £50,000, while others impacted by the policy may be eligible for payments of up to £20,000. Applications opened in December 2024 and close in December 2026.
“Our veterans have waited long enough. It’s time to get everyone paid” – Peter Gibson, CEO of Fighting With Pride
As of 15 December 2025, 1,312 individuals had applied. While 667 discharge-related claims have been decided, fewer than one third of impact claims have been processed, prompting concerns over delays.
Peter Gibson, CEO of Fighting With Pride, warned that slow progress risks undermining Etherton’s legacy. “Too many have suffered unimaginable horrors and pain under a brutal policy brutally implemented by the British State,” he said. “Our veterans have waited long enough. It’s time to get everyone paid.”
Several of Etherton’s key recommendations have already been implemented, including a prime ministerial apology delivered by Rishi Sunak in 2023, the dedication of an LGBTQ+ Armed Forces memorial by King Charles III, and the restoration of rank and berets to affected veterans.
Whether the full spirit of his review is honoured, Gibson said, now rests with the Ministry of Defence.
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