Pension boost for Army gays

Unmarried and gay partners of Armed Forces personnel are to be given the same rights as husbands and wives.

A major overhaul of death-in-service benefits and pensions will allow servicemen and women to register a girlfriend or boyfriend to qualify for compensation and pensions.

The Ministry of Defence said the new " widows' and unmarried partners' pensions" would be 25 per cent higher than those paid to widows at present. A one-off payment consisting of four times salary would also be paid, compared with the current one-and-a-half.

Officials said cases in which partners had not been registered would also be considered - although subject to "substantial" checks.

Ivor Caplin, the minister for veterans, said: "The new schemes are designed to meet the needs of the Armed Forces in the 21st century."

But Bernard Jenkin, the shadow defence secretary, said it was a "thinly disguised cut to pay because people are living longer".