Wes Streeting has spoken out about the “unbelievable volume” of homophobic abuse he’s faced online since becoming Britain’s defence secretary. Streeting also addressed the significance of his appointment, saying it represents a dramatic change from the treatment LGBTQ+ people once faced within Britain’s armed forces. “I am proud of the fact that in my lifetime we’ve gone from gay people not being allowed to serve in the military to a gay defence secretary,” he said, as per ITV News. The UK’s military “gay ban”, which was introduced in the ‘50s, remained in place until 2000, meaning out LGBTQ+ people were prohibited from serving in the British armed forces. Streeting has recently returned from his first visit to Ukraine as defence secretary, where he met President Volodymyr Zelensky and discussed the UK’s support for Ukraine and European security.