Fears 1,000 LGBT veterans could miss gay ban compensation deadline

Usher is one of more than 1,500 veterans who have applied for financial reparations from the Ministry of Defence as part of a scheme launched in 2024 to make amends for their suffering.

While she found out about it through social media, she told the BBC she worries the government “hasn’t tried hard enough” to reach the most isolated and vulnerable.

“Some of the veterans, especially the older ones, were imprisoned for their sexuality,” she says.

“It’s disgusting they could miss out on what they’re entitled to.”

A Ministry of Defence spokesperson told the BBC: “We are working hard to make sure eligible veterans know these schemes are available to them, through collaborating with local councils, the NHS, and other organisations and charities.”

Since the LGBT Financial Recognition Scheme launched in 2024, affected veterans have been able to apply for payments between £1,000 and £70,000 depending on their circumstances.

Pam Johnson says she only became aware of the scheme in August 2025, after her partner had a chance encounter with another veteran, who told her about the help available and “gave her a push” to apply.

The 74-year-old joined the Women’s Royal Army Corps in 1969, when she was stationed in Germany, working in signals intelligence to intercept enemy communications and track their manoeuvres.

She was just 17 when she joined, but she says it was her dream to follow in the footsteps of her father.

“I’d grown up around it, we used to joke that if you cut my dad, he’d bleed khaki,” she says.

“In signals, we were separate from the other bases so we were so close-knit, like a little family.”