GAY sailors will be allowed to march in uniform at a gay and lesbian festival in the summer, a leading Royal Navy officer said yesterday.

Vice-Admiral Adrian Johns, the Second Sea Lord and Commander-in-Chief Naval Home Command, said that he was heartened that a significant number of gay and lesbian navy personnel wanted to march in uniform in the main parade at the EuroPride festival in London.

He said that he had directed his diversity team to work out how an “overt Service presence” could participate in the parade. The decision was given full support yesterday by Admiral Sir Jonathon Band, the newly appointed First Sea Lord and Chief of Naval Staff, who told journalists on board a Type 23 frigate, HMS Somerset, anchored in the Thames: “I don’t mind what people’s sexual orientation is, provided it doesn’t affect a ship’s operational efficiency.”

Admiral Johns said that the navy personnel who wanted to take part in the gay festival in uniform were “keen to give a strong personal signal that the Royal Navy is an inclusive employer of choice that welcomes and actively champions diversity in its workforce”.

Admiral Johns was speaking at a conference held by Stonewall, the gay rights activist group. He said that the inclusion of all sexual orientations in the Navy had not been agreed merely to appear politically correct. The ban on homosexuals serving in the Armed Forces was lifted in January 2000. He said: “We came to realise that sexual orientation was not something that could just be put to one side, because there is potentially a direct impact on operational efficiency.

“When people can’t give 100 per cent to their job because they are being intimidated or they are scared or they are preoccupied with hiding their true identities rather than playing a full part in the team, operational efficiency is degraded.”

In late 2004 the Royal Navy began a partnership with Stonewall, since when policy has “shifted towards creating an environment where gays and lesbians can now feel free to ‘come out’, if they wish, without fear of being harassed or bullied”.

Admiral Johns said that the tireless efforts of one of his officers in promoting and raising awareness of gay issues in the Royal Navy were recognised in the New Year Honours.

It is not clear how many gay and lesbian sailors will participate in the festival, which is to run from June 16 to July 1.

Stonewall said that London would be welcoming lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgendered people and their families from all over the world. The parade will head down Oxford Street and Regent Street on July 1.

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