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Veterans threaten MoD with legal action over LGBT compensation scheme
Two veterans and around 40 others challenge the Ministry of Defence over rank-based exclusion from a £50,000 compensation scheme for LGBT+ personnel dismissed under the ban.
- On 18 February 2026, lawyers acting for Steve Stewart, veteran, and Mark Shephard, veteran, issued a formal letter before action after both were rejected from the Financial Recognition Scheme, part of around 40 refused applicants.
- The scheme, opened in December 2024, makes commissioned officers eligible for compensation but excludes many non-commissioned ranks who felt pressured to leave.
- The scheme offers a £50,000 Dismissed or Discharged Payment and up to £20,000 extra for additional harms, with the 1967–2000 ban period leading to intrusive investigations and long-term injuries.
- Seeking a court challenge, lawyers say the scheme 'does not operate fairly between individuals who were differently ranked during service' and predict legal action may cause MoD embarrassment, which has said it 'deeply regrets' past treatment.
- Pressure on ministers grows as some eligible veterans have died while awaiting payouts, and campaigners from Fighting With Pride warn the scheme creates fresh barriers despite King Charles III's October 2025 National Memorial Arboretum memorial dedication.
5 Articles
5 Articles
LGBTQ+ veterans threaten legal action against MOD over 'gay ban' reparations refusals
A group of ex-Army, Royal Navy and RAF personnel could take the government to the High Court following rejections from a Financial Recognition Scheme (FRS) The post LGBTQ+ veterans threaten legal action against MOD over ‘gay ban’ reparations refusals appeared first on Attitude.
Veteran survivors of former ‘gay ban’ in British armed forces threaten legal action against UK government
Veterans who suffered under the British armed forces’ former “gay ban” have threatened to take the government to court, accusing the Ministry of Defence (MoD) of failing to deliver justice through its financial recognition scheme. The ban, which remained in place until 2000, saw LGBTQ+ service personnel interrogated, abused, dismissed,
Veteran survivors of a former ‘gay ban’ in the military threaten legal action against the government
LGBTQ+ veterans who suffered under a ‘gay ban’ in the armed forces until 2000 have threatened to take the Ministry of Defence to court if they continue to refuse financial reparations to those impacted by the policy.
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