A former Manchester Councillor and Mayor will now be allowed to reclaim any confiscated medals he won during his service.
It comes after the Ministry of Defence (MoD) announced on Tuesday that those who were wrongly sacked – prior to a change in policy in 2000 that allowed previously-banned gay people to serve – will now be able to reclaim medals that were confiscated from them.
The MoD said it wanted to address a “historical wrong”.
Prime Minister Boris Johnson added that: “Those who serve in our Armed Forces deserve every recognition for their service [and] it was a very great injustice that this was denied to some members simply because of their sexuality.
“I hugely welcome the fact we can now address this historic wrong.”
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Carl Austin-Behan OBE – who served on Manchester City Council from 2011-2018, and was the city’s first openly gay Lord Mayor in 2016-2017 – joined the Royal Air Force (RAF) in 1991 when he was 19 years old, and had a busy career that included saving a fellow pilot from a burning aircraft, which subsequently saw him commended for his actions in the Queen’s Honours list of 1991.
But in 1997, he was called in to see senior RAF personnel and the RAF police.
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Carl Austin-Behan
Speaking to Sky News about the moment dismissed from service, Mr Austin-Behan said: “When they asked if I was a homosexual I knew my life was about to change.
“I know I could’ve said ‘no’ but there comes a point in time when you have to be true to yourself [and] as they began to ask me again, I broke down crying before they could finish. Within a day, I lost the job that I had signed up to for 20 years, lost my home and lost all my friends.
“I felt like I’d let everyone down [and] my life just tumbled around me.
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“Due to my exemplary service record, the awards I received, and the charity work I’d undertaken, they decided to suspend me from duty rather than send me to military prison, which was still an option [and] I was marched off camp within an hour, just enough time to be able to throw everything I had into boxes, which the RAF would deliver to an address of my choice.”
Mr Austin-Behan – who is currently the deputy lord lieutenant of Greater Manchester, and trustee of the LGBT+ veterans’ charity Fighting With Pride – took to Twitter to say the move was “welcomed” and that he hoped it would be the start of “a long-overdue support package for our LGBT veterans who were discharged due to their sexuality”.
Following yesterday’s groundbreaking move, veterans minister Johnny Mercer apologised for the historic policy, saying: “Where we have had discriminatory policies like this, I apologise [and] I hope today’s announcement will go some way – clearly it will never go all the way – to redressing the pain caused over the years by the policy of discriminating against the LGBT community.”
A statement on the gov.uk website reads: “Prior to 2000, a number of armed forces personnel were discharged from service on the basis of their sexuality.
“Some received convictions under specified legislation for homosexual behaviour that has now been de-criminalised, while others were discharged solely on the basis of their sexuality, without any conviction.
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“In the course of their discharge, some personnel either forfeited medals directly, or were prevented from continuing to serve and thus denied the ability to regain medals that might previously have been forfeited for unrelated reasons.
“The MoD is committed to addressing this historical wrong and is introducing a policy which enables individuals to apply to have their medals restored.”
Under the scheme, affected former personnel can apply to have their case reviewed by the defence council, with successful applicants receiving a new medal from the MoD’s Medal Office, and relatives of affected ex-military members who have since died are also able to apply for a review.
You can find more information via the Ministry of Defence website here.
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Parklife pumps more than £155,000 back into Greater Manchester community projects
Danny Jones
Parklife is once again proving why it’s such an important event for Greater Manchester, not just in terms of music and culture, but through the money it pumps back into the community through grassroots projects.
The annual music festival at Heaton Park raises significant funds for local initiatives with each edition via the official Parklife Community Fund.
Partnered with the Manchester, Bury, and Rochdale councils, the finances generated through those who attend not only Parklife but also other concerts held at the outdoor venue, such as the recent Oasis shows, help local groups that make a positive, tangible difference in their neighbourhoods.
This year alone, the total includes £55,000 raised from guest list donations by festival attendees, as well as a further £100k generated from other events held in Heaton Park, making 2025 one of, if not the biggest, years for donations to date.
Distributed by the City Council and the local authorities in Bury and Rochdale throughout the respective boroughs, the aim is not only to give back but to enhance local life, through everything from important youth programmes to community wellbeing and improvement schemes.
Launched back in 2017, the festival fund is approaching nearly half a million pounds raised on behalf of local causes, strengthening its connection with the nearby communities surrounding its host site.
The region’s vast and stunning green space is a huge tourist attraction in itself, meaning literal grassroots causes like the woodland management group are vital to maintaining that beauty and status.
Other projects include an astronomy group, as well as fitness drives like ‘RockFit’ (seen above), which now meets at Heaton Park regularly to promote exercise for both physical and mental health.
It’s also worth noting that the fund covers surrounding areas like Higher Blackley and Crumpsall; Sedgley, Holyrood, St Mary’s and even South Middleton.
You can see more examples of the charitable community work in action down below.
Credit: Supplied
Sam Kandel, founder of Parklife Festival, said of the fund: “Parklife is proud to call Heaton Park home, and it’s really important to us that the festival has a lasting, positive impact on the local community.
“The Community Fund is our way of saying thank you to residents and supporting the brilliant grassroots projects that make Manchester, Bury, and Rochdale such special places to live.”
Councillor Lee-Ann Igbon (Exec Member for Vibrant Neighbourhoods) added: “Parklife brings people from Manchester and beyond to our wonderful Heaton Park, and it is right that the communities living close by benefit from the event through reinvestment in local initiatives that will leave a legacy for all.
“The Parklife community fund means that local communities choose what’s important to them and they have the opportunity to bid for funds to invest in projects that enhance local amenities, strengthen community connections and wellbeing for the benefit of everyone.”
Those looking to benefit from the fund can apply online now and you can find out more information by contacting the relevant councils’ neighbourhood pages.
Work finally begins on Greater Manchester’s new ‘innovation hub’ in Atom Valley creating 20,000 jobs
Emily Sergeant
It’s official… work has finally begun on the first major development in Atom Valley.
If you’re not familiar with Atom Valley, this new project is set to be a unique innovation ‘cluster’ – plans of which were approved by local leaders all the way back in summer 2022 – with the potential to create up to 20,000 new jobs in Greater Manchester once it’s complete.
Greater Manchester wants Atom Valley to become a ‘springboard’ for new and emerging companies and researchers, giving them the support and the opportunities they need to trial and commercialise their innovations right here in our region.
The new development which ground has now been broken on is a Sustainable Materials and Manufacturing Centre (SMMC) – which is set to become a thriving hub of innovation.
Today is a big day for GM.
We break ground on a new research centre at Atom Valley – our emerging world-class cluster in advanced materials and manufacturing.
Here, start-ups and emerging companies will be able to pioneer new technologies and scale up their ambitions, all while creating jobs and driving growth across the region in the process.
Located next to the Kingsway Business Park in Rochdale, it will offer 30,000 sq ft of new laboratory space, workshops, and design studios, as well as a lecture theatre, meeting rooms, office space, and flexible workspace for start-ups.
With the ‘right’ support, local leaders say the SMMC will also be a vital link between Atom Valley and the Oxford Road Corridor, ultimately forging a pathway for new companies and projects to expand from the city centre out into the wider city region.
Work has finally begun on Greater Manchester’s new ‘innovation hub’ in Atom Valley / Credit: DLA Architecture
Mayor Andy Burnham says this is the ‘most ambitious development’ in Atom Valley so far
“It will help unleash the untapped potential of the world-leading research taking place across our city region, bridging that crucial gap from invention to bringing those new innovations to the market,” he explained. “And it will create a new hi-tech corridor from the out to the north of Greater Manchester, creating jobs and new opportunities for start-ups to scale up their ambitions.
“This is integrated, well-connected development in action, and a clear sign of our mission to spread the benefits of growth right across our city region.”
Emily Sergeant -
17th February 2021 
