End the injustice of convictions for consensual homosexual sex

David Cameron has announced that a Conservative government would amend the law so that men with convictions for consensual gay sex would be able to apply to have those convictions omitted from their CRB certificate.

The age of consent for gay men was reduced from 21 to 18 in 1994 and to 16 in 2000. However, a number of men continue to have criminal records for activities that are no longer unlawful.

In an answer to a question from a reader of PinkNews, Cameron said that it was "a question of justice – and it's right that we should change the law and wipe the slate clean".

Writing for the same website, he said that from his first speech as Party leader, he had made it clear that the Conservative Party "supports the gay community and wholeheartedly supports gay equality".

"We are totally committed to the fight for gay rights and there will be absolutely no going back on equality legislation if a Conservative government is elected next month", he said.

"We have backed tougher legislation to crack down on gay hatred and we will extend tax advantages and new rights to flexible working to those in civil partnerships".