Thousands of British military personnel who were dismissed from service because of their homosexuality will be able to apply for payments worth up to £70,000 each from today, to recognise the distress caused by a ban that applied between 1967 and 2000.
Labour ministers have approved the creation of a £75m compensation scheme, nearly a quarter of a century after the ending of a policy that led to some soldiers being jailed, while others were stripped of their medals and lost their pension rights.
