UK Foreign Office Sorry For "Misguided" Historic Ban On Homosexuals

The apology comes as Britain prepares to host a conference of the Equal Rights Coalition, a group of 42 countries committed to protecting and promoting LGBTI rights.

Britain's foreign office on Monday apologised for the department's "misguided" ban on lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender people working in the diplomatic service, which was lifted in 1991. "The ban was in place because there was a perception that LGBT people were more susceptible than their straight counterparts to blackmail and, therefore, that they posed a security risk," said Philip Barton, the department's chief civil servant. "Because of this misguided view, people's careers were ended, cut short, or stopped before they could even begin," he added. "I want to apologise publicly for the ban and the impact it had on our LGBT staff and their loved ones, both here in the UK and abroad."