Wes Streeting has described receiving a mass of homophobic abuse since he was made defence secretary last month, while also saying his appointment had been welcomed by some in the Ministry of Defence (MoD) as a sign of change.
Until 2000, gay men and lesbian women were banned from serving in the UK military, with about 200-plus personnel thrown out of the forces each year due to their sexuality – an estimate, as proper records were not kept.
Streeting, who is the first out gay defence secretary, told the All Talk podcast hosted by Iain Dale: “I have experienced more online homophobia in the last three weeks than I have in my entire life.
“Unbelievable volume – because people cannot cope with the idea that a gay person might lead the armed forces of the United Kingdom.”
He went on: “And I have two things to say in response to that. One is, firstly, being the first openly gay defence secretary has been almost entirely unremarked upon in the media.
“And I think, ‘Great, here we are in the third decade of the 21st century and it doesn’t matter, brilliant.’ But of course, online it matters to a lot of people. And I am proud of the fact that in my lifetime we’ve gone from gay people not being able to serve in the military to a gay defence secretary.”
In 2024, Keir Starmer’s government set up the LGBT Financial Recognition Scheme, under which personnel who were dismissed or discharged because of the ban in place from 1967 to 2000 can apply for payments of up to £70,000.
Some MPs have since expressed concern at what they say is the slow pace of processing claims, while two veterans have begun legal action to challenge the fact that personnel who were forced to resign, rather being being dismissed or discharged, receive lower payments.
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Streeting told the podcast: “In my first week, someone in the MoD said to me, ‘As a gay man, I’m really proud that we have our first gay defence secretary. It means a lot to us who remember the bad old days.’ So I was quite touched by that.
“As for the stuff online, I sort of think one of the wonderful things about today’s day and age is that we get to show just how strong we are. I see strength in all sorts of places in the LGBT community and people living normal, dull, suburban lives. It’s ordinary now being gay in Britain, which is brilliant.
“But I also look at service personnel, athletes now with some footballers coming out, we have got strength in numbers and we’ve got strength in confidence. It’s an opportunity for me to demonstrate strength in this role as well and to challenge the sort of stereotype that clearly persists in dark corners of the internet.”
Part of Streeting’s new role involves liaising with Pete Hegseth, the US’s more stereotypically traditional defence secretary, who last month unveiled plans to test US service personnel for their levels of testosterone.
Like others in the Trump administration, Hegseth is a vehement opponent of equality and inclusion. Last year, he ordered the renaming of a US navy ship named in honour of Harvey Milk, the murdered navy veteran, gay rights activist and politician.
