Decriminalised, but only behind closed doors

On 27 July 1967, the Sexual Offences Act received Royal Assent in London and came into force the same day. For the first time in decades, sexual acts between two men in England and Wales were no longer a criminal offence in principle, provided both were over 21 and the acts took place "in private".

It had been preceded by a gruelling struggle. Since the Labouchere Amendment of 1885, any form of "gross indecency" between men had been a criminal offence. Oscar Wilde and Alan Turing, among others, were convicted under this provision; until 1954, more than a thousand men a year were in prison because of it. The Wolfenden Report, published in 1957, recommended removing consensual acts between adults from the criminal law: there must remain a realm of private morality that is, in brief, not the law's business. A motion to implement it failed in Parliament in 1960.

The reform was finally pushed through by the Conservative peer Lord Arran in the House of Lords and the Labour MP Leo Abse in the House of Commons. Home Secretary Roy Jenkins allowed a free vote. Abse called the existing law unjust and unenforceable; MPs spoke of a blackmailer's charter. After an all-night debate, the bill passed its third reading by 101 votes to 16.

What remained in the end was a narrow compromise. A situation was no longer considered private as soon as more than two people were present or it took place somewhere accessible to the public. Merchant ships were excluded. At least, amendments to criminalise the promotion of homosexuality or raise the age of consent to 25 were defeated. The law applied only to England and Wales. Scotland and Northern Ireland were left out, and it would take further decades to achieve legal equality.