Current Affairs

House of Commons Speaker to honour Alan Turing ‘the gay man who saved the world’ with posthumous award

Oct 15 2013
Written by Joseph McCormick

The late gay computer genius and World War II codebreaker Alan Turing will be honoured with a posthumous award at the Attitude Awards this evening.

The posthumous Icon Award for Outstanding Achievement, which will be accepted by two of his nieces, will be presented by the Speaker of the House of Commons John Bercow.

Turing, who was persecuted by the UK Government over his sexuality, played a key role in Britain’s war effort against Nazi Germany. Forced to undergo chemical castration he committed suicide in 1954.

Fellow Bletchley Park code breaker, Professor Jack Good has said of Turing: “It was a good thing the authorities hadn’t known he was a homosexual during the war, because if they had, they would have fired him – and we would have lost.”

Tomorrow, six commemorative Attitude Awards Issue covers will be released with one being Turing. It reads “The gay man who saved the world”.

The Imitation Game, a biopic about Turing which stars Benedict Cumberbatch and Keira Knightley, began principal photography in the UK last month.

In May, a private member’s bill was introduced in the House of Lords, seeking to pardon Turing, who was prosecuted for “gross indecency” in 1952 after having a relationship with another man.

His former wartime colleague Baroness Trumpington said recently: “I am certain but for his work we would have lost the war through starvation.”

A New Alan Turing sculpture was also unveiled in London to commemorate the computer genius’s legacy.

Last year celebrities who attended the Attitude Awards included Sir Ian McKellen, Gary Barlow, Peter Tatchell, Little Mix, McFly, Graham Norton, Clare Balding, Nick Grimshaw, Will Young and many more.

John Bercow will host and present the PinkNews Awards on 23 October in the Palace of Westminster.