Thousands of gay and bisexual men convicted of abolished sexual offences to be posthumously pardoned
Thousands of gay and bisexual men convicted of abolished sexual offences are to be posthumously pardoned.
The "hugely important" move will see those convicted for consensual same-sex relationships before laws were changed formally pardoned.
Calls for wider action emerged after Second World War code-breaker Alan Turing was given a posthumous royal pardon in 2013 over a conviction in 1952 for gross indecency with a 19-year-old man.
Turing was chemically castrated and died two years later from cyanide poisoning in an apparent suicide - though there have been suggestions his death was an accident.
Anyone living who has been convicted of the now abolished offences can currently apply through the Home Office to have their names cleared through the disregard process. This removes any mention of an offence from criminal record checks.
In another step, the Government is also announcing that it will introduce a new statutory pardon for the living in cases where offences have been successfully deleted through the disregard process.