Gay Ex-Army Officer Wins Supreme Court Pension Battle

A former soldier has won a battle at the UK's highest court to secure his husband the same pension rights a wife would enjoy should he die.

Ex-cavalry officer John Walker, 66, said he was "thrilled" after Supreme Court justices ruled unanimously in his favour, following his long-running action.

Mr Walker retired in 2003 after working for a chemicals company for more than 20 years, making the same contributions to the pension scheme as his heterosexual colleagues.

His legal challenge centred on an exemption in the 2010 Equality Act allowing employers to exclude same-sex partners from spousal benefits paid into a pension fund before December 2005, which was when civil partnerships became legal.

On Wednesday a panel of five justices, headed by the Supreme Court's deputy president Lady Hale, made a declaration that the exemption was "incompatible with EU law and must be disapplied".

It means Mr Walker's husband will be entitled on his death - provided they are still married - to a spouse's pension of around £45,000 a year, rather than about £1,000 which he would have received.

The couple have been together since 1993, entering into a civil partnership in January 2006, which was later converted into a marriage.

After the ruling, Mr Walker said:

"I am absolutely thrilled at today's ruling, which is a victory for basic fairness and decency.

"Finally this absurd injustice has been consigned to the history books - and my husband and I can now get on with enjoying the rest of our lives together.

"It is to our government's great shame that it has taken so many years, huge amounts of taxpayers' money and the UK's highest court to drag them into the 21st century."

He said: "What I would like from Theresa May and her ministers today is a formal commitment that this change will stay on the statute books after Brexit."

Human rights organisation Liberty said the ruling could change the lives of thousands of couples and would mean any company using the Equality Act to exclude same-sex partners from pension benefits in the same way would now be breaking the law.