THE government announced today a review into the treatment of soldiers dismissed from the army for being gay — but veterans have branded the 22-year delay a “national disgrace.” 

The probe will hear evidence from military personnel who were stripped of their jobs and medals under homophobic laws that were in place until January 12 2000. 

Under the ban, soldiers also faced criminal convictions and prison sentences. 

LGBT veterans charity Fighting with Pride co-director Craig Jones said men and women who fought to lift the ban “lost their health and they’d lost their jobs and they’d lost their pensions and their peace of mind to some extent.”

He welcomed the review but said it was a “national disgrace” that nothing had been done for veterans impacted by the ban since it was lifted. 

The review comes after ex-serviceman Simon Hinchley-Robson spoke out about being “tortured” by the RAF in 1986 for being gay.

His harrowing testimony was read out by his local MP Clive Efford in the Commons last week.

The review aims to look at how support for veterans affected by the ban can be improved.