The UK's
eavesdropping agency, GCHQ, has apologized for its ban on homosexuals,
particularly in relation to legendary code breaker Alan Turing. The apology
came on the same day it officially opened a Twitter account.
Deutsche Welle, 16 May 2016
 |
| Monument in Manchester to Alan Turing |
The head of
the UK's Government Communications Headquarters (GCHQ) has formally apologized
for a ban on homosexuals which led to the dismissal and subsequent suicide of
one of its best-ever code breakers, Alan Turing, in the 1950s.
Speaking on
Monday, Robert Hannigan told a gay rights workplace conference in London that
Turing had been an example to others as he had not been afraid to think
"differently and radically."
 |
| Alan Turing portrait at the National Gallery |
"(I
want to) say how sorry I am that he and so many others were treated in this
way," Hannigan said. "Their suffering was our loss." GCHQ's ban
on homosexuals was only lifted in the 1990s. The life of Turing was featured in
a recent film with Benedict Cumberbatch "The Imitation Game.'
"To do
our job, which is solving some of the hardest technology problems the world
faces for security reasons, we need all talents and we need people who dare to
think differently and be different," Hannigan said.
While
Turing, and other gay men were regarded as security risks by their employers,
the UK's domestic spy agency MI5 was recently rated the country's most
gay-friendly employer by campaign group Stonewall. Six years ago it was ranked
134 on the index.
 |
| A scene from 'The Imitation Game' |
Now with an
outward presence on Twitter
GCHQ rarely
makes public pronouncements and so its entry to the world of social media made
Monday a double-first. "We want GCHQ to be more accessible and to help the
public understand more about our work," an unnamed spokesperson said.
"We also want to reach out to the technical community and add our voice to
social media conversations about technology," maths and cyber-security.
The
agency's first tweet "Hello, world" came with a background image of
its ring-shaped building in Cheltenham, known locally as the
"doughnut."
Hello, world. https://t.co/SROtSsE8KB— GCHQ (@GCHQ) May 16, 2016
GCHQ
presented itself as an agency "Where our brightest people bring together
intelligence and technology to keep Britain safe."
The US
Central Intelligence Agency, which joined Twitter in February 2014 and boasts
1.36 million followers, was concise in its welcome:
Welcome to Twitter @GCHQ! https://t.co/EmD8hGMRBv— CIA (@CIA) May 16, 2016
Within two
hours, GCHQ was testing the mental agility of its 16,300 new Twitter followers
with a soccer-doku puzzle based on England and Wales' group in the upcoming
Euro 2016 tournament in France:
Try our soccer-doku puzzle, fill in the gaps (3 pts win, 1 draw). Answers: 5pm https://t.co/L19xcgjV22 #MathsMonday pic.twitter.com/MufsT4QYaM— GCHQ (@GCHQ) May 16, 2016
Others
reflected on who the spy agency would follow from its official account,
starting with a famous and fictitious operative:
— Paul Lewis (@paullewismoney) May 16, 2016
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