Security services may have killed code-breaker for being gay
By Alex Ward Fro Daily Mail UK
Security services may have killed code-breaker Alan Turing for being gay claims campaigner Peter Tatchell
The code-breaker died in 1954 after eating a cyanide-laced apple
Mr Tatchell is urging the Government to investigate Turing’s death
The campaigner said Turing’s Royal pardon was wrong because some 50,000 other men were convicted under the same law
The British security services may be guilty of killing recently pardoned code-breaker Alan Turing for being gay, a human rights campaigner has claimed.
Peter Tatchell has written to the Prime Minister insisting that the Government launch an investigation into the famous mathematician’s 1954 death by cyanide poisoning.
Turing, who was pivotal in cracking the German Enigma codes during World War Two which gave the Allies vital information about the Nazi’s movements, was convicted of homosexual activity which was illegal at the time.
It was thought that Turing died after eating a cyanide-laced apple but Mr Tatchell says that the alleged apple was never tested and that the original inquest was ‘perfunctory and inadequate’.
He said: ‘Turing was regarded as a high security risk because of his homosexuality and his expert knowledge of code-breaking, advanced mathematics and computer science.
‘At the time of his death, Britain was gripped by a MacCarthyite-style anti-homosexual witch hunt. Gay people were being hounded out of the Armed Forces and the civil and foreign services.
‘In this frenzied homophobic atmosphere, all gay men were regarded as security risks – open to blackmail at a time when homosexuality was illegal and punishable by life imprisonment. Doubts were routinely cast on their loyalty and patriotism. Turing would have fallen under suspicion.’
‘A new inquiry is long overdue, even if only to dispel any doubts about the true cause of his death – including speculation that he was murdered by the security services (or others).
‘I think murder by state agents is unlikely. There is no known evidence pointing to any such act. However, it is a major failing that this possibility has never been considered or investigated. Even if the security services did not kill him, did they pressure him and did this pressure contribute to his suicide?’
Mr Tatchell’s comments come as Turing was posthumously pardoned by the Queen under the Royal Prerogative of Mercy. The pardon is only the fourth since the Second World War
Historians credit the work of Turing and his fellow code-breakers at Bletchley Park in Buckinghamshire with shortening the war by up to two years, saving countless lives.
Turing is also widely seen as the father of computer science and artificial intelligence. But in 1952 he was convicted for homosexual activity, which was illegal at the time. To avoid prison, Turing agreed to ‘chemical castration’ – hormonal treatment designed to reduce libido.
As well as physical and emotional damage, his conviction had led to the removal of his security clearance and meant he was no longer able to work for GCHQ, the successor to the Government Code and Cypher School, based at Bletchley Park.
Mr Tatchell said that singling out Turing for a royal pardon because of his fame and achievements was ‘wrong’.
He said: ‘At least 50,000 other men were convicted under the same law. They have never been offered a pardon and will never get one. Selective redress is a bad way to remedy a historic injustice.
‘An estimated 15,000 men convicted of the same offence as Alan Turing are still alive.
‘An apology and pardon is due to the other 50,000-plus men who were also convicted of consenting, victimless homosexual relationships during the twentieth century. These men were criminalised for consenting behaviour that was not a crime between heterosexual men and women.’
Turing was granted a pardon after a long campaign to rehabilitate his reputation. Pardons are usually given when someone has been found to be innocent after the event, but government sources said Turing was being pardoned because he was ‘a truly exceptional man who saved Britain’.
In 2009 the then Prime Minister Gordon Brown issued a public apology for his treatment but did not secure a pardon.
On Christmas Eve, the day Turing was pardoned, Mr Cameron said: ‘Alan Turing was a remarkable man who played a key role in saving this country.
‘His action saved countless lives. He also left a remarkable national legacy through his substantial scientific achievements, often being referred to as the father of modern computing.’
On 8 June 1954, Turing’s cleaner found him dead. A post-mortem examination determined that he had committed suicide.
Several scholars, and even his family, have suggested Turing’s death was not suicide – and instead either an accident or linked to a conspiracy.
When his body was discovered, an apple laid half-eaten next to his bed. It was never tested for cyanide but it is speculated it was the source of the fatal does. Some more peculiar theories suggest Turing was ‘obsessed’ with fairytale Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs and his death was inspired by the poison apple in the story.
The theory was supported in an article in The Guardian written by Turing’s friend, the author Alan Garner, in 2011.
However, later evidence suggested that Turing habitually ate an apple before bed, and it was not unusual for it to be discarded half-eaten. His mother is said to have thought the ingestion was accidental, cause by her son’s storage of chemicals in his home.
Speaking on the 100th anniversary of Turing’s birth on 23rd June 2012, Professor of Philosophy Jack Copeland, University of Canterbury, Christchurch, New Zealand, questioned the evidence given to the inquiry in 1954.
He said there was no evidence of premeditation – there was no suicide note and he seemed to be in a cheerful mood in the days leading up to his death.
He added that Turing’s career was at an all-time high and that he would not want to intentionally kill himself.
He pointed out that his friend Robin Gandy stayed with Turing a week before his death and he remarked how happy Turing seemed.
Finally, the academic remarked that the inquest was so bad that Turing could even have been murdered. Although it is unclear who would have wanted to murder him Mr Copeland said his work at Bletchly Park was under strict secrecy until well after his death.
INVESTIGATION IS LONG OVERDUE: EXCERPTS FROM PETER TATCHELL’S LETTER TO THE PRIME MINISTER
Dear David Cameron,
One big issue thrown up by Turing’s pardon is: Why him alone? Singling out Turing for a royal pardon just because he was a great scientist and very famous is wrong in principle. The law should be applied equally, without fear or favour, regardless of whether a person is a well-known high achiever – or not. Selective redress is a bad way to remedy a historic injustice.
Turing and the other 50,000+ men were convicted under the same ‘gross indecency’ law that sent Oscar Wilde to prison in 1895. It remained on the statute book until 2003, classified in the penal code under the heading ‘unnatural offences.’ Likewise, the law against ‘buggery’, which was legislated in 1533 during the reign of King Henry VIII, was only repealed in 2003.
The second point I want to raise is the case for a new inquiry into the circumstances of the death of Alan Turing. Although it is said that he died from eating an apple laced with cyanide, the allegedly fatal apple was never tested for cyanide.
Moreover, he was in an upbeat mood at the time of his death and making plans for the future – not the typical profile of a person who takes their own life.
A new inquiry is long overdue, even if only to dispel any doubts about the true cause of his death – including speculation that he was murdered by the security services (or others).
I think murder by state agents is unlikely. There is no known evidence pointing to any such act.
However, it is a major failing that this possibility has never been considered or investigated.
We know Turing was… regarded as a high security risk because of his homosexuality and his expert knowledge of code-breaking, advanced mathematics and computer science. At the time of his death… gay people were being hounded out of the armed forces and the civil and foreign services.
In this frenzied homophobic atmosphere, all gay men were regarded as security risks. Doubts were routinely cast on their loyalty and patriotism, especially following the unmasking of the bisexual and gay spies, respectively Donald Maclean and Guy Burgess.
The security services were certainly fearful that Turing was vulnerable to blackmail and probably anxious that he might pass information to the Soviets.
There was an irrational, paranoid fear that other leading scientists, perhaps including Turing, might also aid the Soviets; in Turing’s case may be as revenge for the way he’d been mistreated.
Thank you for your consideration of this request.
Yours sincerely,
Peter Tatchell
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