RAF Veteran Liz Stead has spoken to the BBC about her criminal record for “perceived same-sex sexual activity.” She was thrown out of the RAF in 1969 after bosses discovered a love letter from her girlfriend. However, she was unaware this also came with a criminal record, which she only discovered last December.
She learnt of the criminal record when applying for the scheme awarding financial redress for veterans who were sacked during a ban on homosexuality in the armed forces. This ban was only lifted in 2000. When she was initially denied due to the conviction, she was advised to apply for a pardon from the Home Office.
She told the BBC: “I’ve worked in local government most of my life and I have to wonder, had they known about this, would I have still had that job?”
She is now encouraging other women who may have lost their roles in the armed forces due to homosexuality to apply for pardons in case they too have unknown criminal records.
