UK issues posthumous pardons for thousands of gay men

Justice minister hails 'momentous day' as so-called Turing's law receives royal assent, but critics say move does not go far enough

Thousands of men convicted of offences that once criminalised homosexuality but are no longer on the statute book have been posthumously pardoned under a new law.

A clause in the policing and crime bill, which received royal assent on Tuesday, extends to those who are dead the existing process of purging past criminal records.