The decision, which caused widespread controversy at the time[1] led the UK to adopt a revised sexual-orientation-free Armed Forces Code of Social Conduct in January 2000.
[citation needed] The British government conceded that there had been an interference with the applicants' right to a private life under article 8 of the European Convention.
In order for an interference under article 8 to be justified it is necessary that it is in accordance with the law, in the pursuit of a legitimate aim, and must be considered necessary in a democratic society.
The decision has come to be widely accepted both within the military and outside it with Wing Commander Phil Sagar of the armed forces' joint equality and diversity training centre issuing a formal apology on behalf of the Ministry of Defence in 2007 to those affected by the MOD's former policy.
[10] In 2015 following the fifteenth anniversary of the lifting of the gay ban the Ministry of Defence announced changes to its equal opportunities policy which allowed new recruits to disclose their sexuality.