British Army Recruits to Be Asked Over Their Sexual Orientation

MOSCOW, January 11 (Sputnik) — Recruits to the British armed forces will be asked to state their sexual preference in a move to improve diversity in the military, reports Press Association.

Details of the recruit’s sexual preference will be retained, but they have the option to “prefer not to say”.

Gay servicemen and women were allowed to serve openly in the Army, Navy and RAF in 2000. The current move is seen as a major step forward to foster tolerance for gay servicemen and women and aims to end homophobic attacks, reports Daily Record.

Details of sexual preferences will be held on personal records for the first time in British military history.

A Ministry of Defense (MoD) spokesman said: “The MoD proudly encourages diversity at all levels. Service personnel are now encouraged to declare their sexual orientation, although this is not mandatory, collecting this data will give us a better understanding of the composition of our armed forces and help ensure our policies and practices fully support our personnel,” reported by Press Association.

The former lance corporal, James Wharton, 28, suffered beatings in the Household Cavalry’s Blues and Royals for being openly gay. He was notably saved from one attack by Prince Harry, reports Daily Record.

Regarding the move, Wharton said: “It’s fantastic news. But it is important troops don’t have to reveal sexual preferences. I wasn’t ready to do that when I joined.”

There is no record of gay recruits in the forces. But the year before the ban was lifted, 298 were kicked out.

The current decision by the British Armed forces will also summon recruits to provide additional information on how open they feel they can be regarding their sexual orientation.