Alan Turing was a brilliant British code-breaker in World War II and probably responsible for saving (at least) thousands of lives. He and his colleagues made a huge contribution to the eventual defeat of the Axis powers, and to modern computer science and cryptography. But because Turing was a homosexual, the British Government rewarded this service with vicious persecution –
including so-called “chemical castration” – that eventually drove him to suicide.Human rights campaigner Peter Tatchell has said: “I pay tribute to the government for ensuring Alan Turing has a royal pardon at last but I do think it’s very wrong that other men convicted of exactly the same offence are not even being given an apology, let alone a royal pardon.”