A gay soldier has claimed that he was sacked from the special forces because of his sexuality.

Former Lance Corporal Chris Kenna, 25, who supported the SAS as a communications specialist, alleged that he was given his marching orders when his wife told the Army that he had confessed to being gay.

“Being gay has made no difference to my effectiveness as a soldier. When I completed the SAS course I was the proudest guy alive. To pull on the beret means you are the best part of the finest fighting force in the world,” he told the News of the World.

Defence sources however were adamant that Corporal Kenna had not been asked to leave the special forces regiment because of his sexuality, a move that would have breached government policy after the decision in January 2000 to lift the ban on homosexuals and lesbians serving in the Armed Forces. This came after a ruling against the Ministry of Defence by the European Court of Human Rights.

Army sources expressed anger at the claims by former Corporal Kenna, saying that he was never a proper member of the SAS, but was “a general duties soldier” in support of the regiment at Hereford. “He wasn’t required to pass the SAS fitness tests and failed the one he did do,” one source said.

The sources said the corporal was ousted from the special forces because it was considered he was unsuitable for that line of work, although he had served in the SAS for two years, including tours in Iraq. He was a member of 18 (UKSF) Signal Regiment, one of several support units serving the SAS.

After his enforced withdrawal from the SAS, Corporal Kenna subsequently decided to leave the Army, the sources said, emphasising that everything possible was done to assist him after he had asked to leave.

A spokeswoman for the MoD said: “We can confirm that a Royal Signals soldier asked to leave the Army and was subsequently discharged.” The official added: “The Armed Forces regard sexual orientation as a private-life matter. The Armed Forces operates a policy of zero tolerance of harassment or discrimination.”

Ex-Corporal Kenna alleged that he had received a notice from the Hereford regiment that he was to be graded as “temporarily noneffective”, after the disclosure that he was gay. A letter from the SAS adjutant explained that he was not being removed from his post but that he would become “a supernumerary to the regiment”.

The adjutant added: “This means that whilst we will still look after your best interest we ask for another soldier to be in work with the regiment.

“This gives you the time required to get yourself back on track.”

Defence sources said that the notice was “purely an administrative procedure to make sure someone else could do the work while he was off”.

The former SAS corporal told the News of the World: “They wanted me to tell them that I wasn’t gay any more. They said if I thought being gay was just a phase then I might be able to return. When they realised that would not happen, they said they’d get me a job outside the Army.”

Since leaving the Army, Mr Kenna has worked as a model and as host of his own music programme on Sky TV.

Explore UK News

• Science News

• Crime News

• Education News

• Health News

• Scotland News

Times Recommends

• Savers left in limbo as Icesave freezes deposits
• Kennel Club changes breeding rules
• Passengers triple risk of fatal crashes