A landmark legal battle to quash a 1959 conviction for buggery has been launched.

John Crawford's criminal record for consensual sex with another man was created under now-defunct sodomy laws and were extracted after weeks of beatings in a police cell.

But 51 years later, he remains legally bound to disclose his conviction, received when he was just 19, when applying to work with vulnerable people. Under the current rules, he could be prosecuted if he fails to mention his buggery conviction under the Sexual Offences Act 1956.

A Downing Street petition has been launched which reads:
"We the undersigned petition the Prime Minister to to abolish all convictions for buggery. Being gay and having consensual sex is not a crime, and we demand you redress the injustice suffered by those who are still criminalised on the basis of an archaic law, which was repealed because it was discriminatory. Those victims who have had a conviction for buggery show up on their criminal record checks should have their names cleared and be given compensation."

Signatures include Brighton & Hove Liberal Democrat Councillor Paul Elgood who said:
"These convictions belong to a different and less undertsanding age. I hope the government will act, finally doing the right thing after so many year."

To sign the petition visit here.