A “fitting tribute to an exceptional man”, said Justice Secretary Chris Grayling of the royal pardon granted to the Enigma codebreaker and Cambridge alumnus Alan Turing. A “just reward for a man who was stripped of his honour, his work and the loyalty he showed his nation" were the words of another Conservative MP.  ‘Fitting tribute.’ ‘Just reward.’ The sentiments behind these statements are all wrong. Where is the condemnation of the law criminalising homosexuality? Where is the apology for the other 50,000 men, convicted under the same laws?

The attitude towards homosexuality implicit in these comments is reflective of a wider, underlying homophobia that still exists throughout society. It is easy to forget that Section 28, an amendment passed under Margaret Thatcher which prevented the ‘promotion’ of homosexuality in schools, was in force not very long ago. In fact, it was only officially repealed in 2003 after a lengthy political process.

This year we have seen more clearly than ever that remnants of the law still remain. In August, it came to light that a number of schools had sex-education policies which prevented teachers from “intentionally promoting” sexuality – the exact same wording as Section 28. Just last weekend, it was discovered that BT’s parental control filter blocks “sites where the main purpose is to provide information on subjects such as respect for a partner, abortion, gay and lesbian lifestyle, contraceptive, sexually transmitted diseases and pregnancy." It is shocking that such a clause exists – not only because the wording of it implies that homosexuality is a lifestyle choice.

The anti-gay law passed in Russia in June – an equivalent to Section 28 – has been widely condemned ahead of the Sochi Winter Olympics. Both Barack Obama and David Cameron have announced that they will not be going. But were the Olympics not to be held in Russia next year, what action would be taken? Lack of support for LGBT* asylum seekers can be seen in the case of Irina Putilova, an activist who was very nearly deported to Russia, had it not been for a last minute U-turn. The campaign for Prossie, a lesbian asylum seeker from Uganda, to remain in the UK received less media attention – she was deported earlier this month.

It is scary to see the number of regressive steps that have been taken this year, even in this month alone. Two weeks ago India’s Supreme Court reinstated a law that bans gay sex. On Friday the Ugandan parliament passed an anti-gay bill, which would punish homosexuality with lifetime imprisonment. The government should be speaking out against the criminalisation of homosexuality in the strongest possible terms – not patting themselves on the back.