The defence secretary told the Guardian that the Ministry of Defence was holding talks this week while a high court challenge is under way over rules that blocked some veterans from receiving £50,000 payments despite being forced out of military service.
Steven Stewart, 55, a former Royal Military Police corporal, and Mark Shephard, 49, who served in the Royal Air Force, brought the challenge after their departures were recorded as resignations rather than formal dismissals. That meant they did not qualify for the scheme's £50,000 dismissed or discharged payment. Stewart received £7,000 and Shephard £5,000 under a separate payment recognising the impact of the ban on LGBT personnel.
Gay men and lesbian women were banned from serving in the British military until 2000. Proper records were not held, but an estimated 200 to 250 personnel were thrown out each year because of their sexuality. The financial recognition scheme was established in 2024 under Keir Starmer's premiership.
Streeting, Britain's first out gay defence secretary, said he would be "careful" what he said because the case might be subject to judicial review. Asked whether he would review the rules to make sure veterans who were not formally discharged could also be eligible for the dismissal payment, he told the Guardian: "We do want to get this right so we'll keep the conversation going and see if there's a way forward that doesn't require legal action."
He stopped short of promising to change the rules or confirming any settlement was being considered. "It's tricky," he said. "The balance the review tried to get was making sure that where we've got records of dismissal, we're able to act. But also recognising there'll be lots of people who left for whom there were no formal records, and making sure they're still eligible to apply for support, which they are."
Streeting added: "I'd say to people, if you are one of those veterans who haven't yet applied please do, the money is there, we've got £75m allocated to this. Over £60m has already gone, but I'm sure there are still more people who could benefit."
He acknowledged that some veterans had died before receiving justice. "For me, a lot of these veterans, they're getting older and some of them sadly have not lived to see justice," he said. "What [the payment] can't do is erase the pain and the indignity of asking people who serviced their country faithfully to leave a career, to leave a service they loved because of who they are."
The looming high court hearing means the government could soon face a judicial examination of whether the rules intended to address historical discrimination have left some victims facing another injustice. Streeting also touched on current policy, saying he had a personnel responsibility to avoid repeating "those indignities and those injustices" for trans service personnel. He said the Ministry of Defence was still finding its way on guidance for single-sex spaces and wanted to get it right on a case by case basis.