British Prime Minister Gordon Brown has apologised on behalf of the British Government for the treatment of gay World War II hero Alan Turing, who was forced to undergo chemical castration because he was a homosexual. Suffered: Alan Turing Brown's speech came after a petition for the apology was signed by over 30,000 people recently. "Turing was a quite brilliant mathematician, most famous for his work on breaking the German Enigma codes," said Brown. "It is no exaggeration to say that, without his outstanding contribution, the history of World War Two could well have been very different. "The debt of gratitude he is owed makes it all the more horrifying, therefore, that he was treated so inhumanely. In 1952, he was convicted of 'gross indecency' - in effect, tried for being gay. His sentence - and he was faced with the miserable choice of this or prison - was chemical castration by a series of injections of female hormones. He took his own life just two years later." Brown continued: "While Turing was dealt with under the law of the time and we can't put the clock back, his treatment was of course utterly unfair and I am pleased to have the chance to say how deeply sorry I and we all are for what happened to him. "Alan and the many thousands of other gay men who were convicted as he was convicted under homophobic laws were treated terribly. Over the years millions more lived in fear of conviction. "So on behalf of the British government, and all those who live freely thanks to Alan's work I am very proud to say: we're sorry, you deserved so much better."
Credit: GayNZ.com Daily News Staff
First published: Saturday, 12th September 2009 - 9:19am