The Prime Minister, Gordon Brown, has released a statement on the Second World War code-breaker, Alan Turing, recognising the 'appalling' way he was treated for being gay.

In it Brown states;
"On behalf of the British government, and all those who live freely thanks to Alan’s work I am very proud to say: we’re sorry, you deserved so much better."

Alan Turing, a mathematician most famous for his work on breaking the German Enigma codes, was convicted of ‘gross indecency’ in 1952 and sentenced to chemical castration.

Gordon Brown’s statement came in response to a petition posted on the Number 10 website which has received thousands of signatures in recent months. Gordon Brown personally telephoned John Graham-Cumming who initiated the Downing Street petition to deliver the apology.

Simon Burgess, Labour and Co-operative candidate for Brighton Kemptown, has welcomed the apology and said:
 
"I am delighted the Prime Minister has issued the posthumous apology for the way Alan Turing was persecuted by the British Government because of his sexuality. I joined the campaign for an apology by backing the petition on the No.10 website and by lobbying ministers, and it is right that this man should be recognised as the national hero he was. We must remember that Turing was one of millions of gay people who suffered under homophobic laws for so many years in this country, and we should never forget how far we have come since those dark days."

Human Rights campaigner Peter tatchell of Outrage! said:
"The Prime Minister's apology is commendable and quite a coup. Governments rarely apologise for anything. A similar apology is due to the estimated 100,000 British men who were also convicted of consenting, victimless same-sex relationships during the twentieth century."

George Broadhead of The Pink Triangle Trust said:
“It’s extremely sad that Turing was treated in such a manner back then, resulting in his suicide in 1954, but that it’s taken so long for the British government to issue an apology and to recognise the invaluable work Turing did in altering the possible course of the Second World War is inexcusable.

“At least Gordon Brown has gone some way towards putting that right, and, of course, we welcome his message. It’s particularly apt coming so close to the seventieth anniversary of the outbreak of the Second World War.”

To read the full text of the statement visit:
www.number10.gov.uk/Page20571