MSPs back bill to pardon gay men for historical ‘crimes’

A Holyrood committee has given its backing to legislation that will pardon gay men wronged by past discrimination.

MSPs on the parliament’s equalities and human rights committee have unanimously supported the general principles of the Historical Sexual Offences (Pardons and Disregards) Bill.

The bill will automatically pardon gay men convicted under historical discriminatory laws and will also allow them to apply for past convictions of this nature to be removed from criminal records.

A report following the committee’s scrutiny of the legislation said it was “long overdue and welcome”.

The last anti-gay references were removed from the criminal statute book in Scotland in late 2013, and Police Scotland have identified up to 1,261 of- fences recorded against 994 people which fall within the scope of the bill. MSPs heard evidence from two anonymous witnesses who spoke about the long-term impact of their historical sexual convictions.

A man convicted in the early 1990s after being arrested for kissing a man in the street, said his career had been hindered as he feared applying for jobs which required a disclosure check.

Christina McKelvie MSP said: “The unanimous backing is an important step forward. Although the pardon is automatic, we would encourage anybody eligible to apply for the disregard.”