We at Twickenham Labour Party are delighted to hear that Alan Turing has been chosen to feature on the £50 note. Alan Turing, a one time local Hampton resident played such an instrumental role in both the world of computers and the outcome of the war . Sadly, he didn’t receive the recognition he deserved whilst alive. As a gay man , he received great discrimination for his sexuality and was prosecuted in 1952 for “ homosexual acts and gross indecency” as homosexuality was a criminal offence. This ultimately led to his death by cyanide poisoning. In 2009, Gordon Brown offered an official publicly apology for the treatment Turing received and Queen Elizabeth rightfully issued a posthumous Royal Pardon in 2013.
The Twickenham CLP recently celebrated Turing’s life as we held a memorial event outside his Hampton home on his June birthday. The Labour Party has a long history of fighting for LGBT rights and have made great strides towards equality. We applaud this decision by the Bank of England to honour Alan Turing’s life in this way, a great first for the LGBT community.